Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine is normally a place of peace and prayer. However, this weekend it was also a crime scene. Someone beheaded the statue of St. Jude, and destroyed dozens of candles in the shrine’s sacred courtyard.

“This is not good. It’s ugly. I don’t have words. I don’t know why people are like that,” Sandra Bartolo said, who visited the courtyard on Monday to pray. Bartolo is one of the many parishioners at the predominately Hispanic parish who were shocked to discover the damage. Bernadette Medina Gonzalez also regularly comes to the courtyard to pray, especially during COVID-19.