Lord have mercy!

Social media users expressed heartbreak after vandals desecrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus monument in La Roda de Andalucía, a small village in Seville, Spain. The monument dates back more than 70 years.

“In October of 1952, the statue was unveiled in the town square which bears the name of the Consecration of Spain to the Sacred Heart, by King Alfonso XIII in 1919,” this news article reported.

The perpetrator(s) decapitated the statue and cut off its hands. Black cloth now covers the monument until it can be restored.  The townspeople also placed candles and flowers below the vandalized monument. The case is currently under investigation.

Here’s one social media user’s post below:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Hoy en nuestro pueblo, nos hemos despertado con un lamentable acto de vandalismo. La imagen del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, que preside la Plaza del Sagrado Corazón desde hace más de 70 años,ha amanecido decapitada y con las manos cortadas. Un suceso que todos los Rodeños y Rodeñas lamentan profundamente. Todos los que van pasando miran hacia la imagen con cara de desolación y tristeza por este lamentable suceso que no le supone a nadie ningún beneficio si no una gran maldad. Ojalá encuentren a la persona o personas que han cometido tal horror. Y que muy pronto vuelva la imagen del Sagrado Corazón a ser restaurada, ya que es uno de los monumentos a destacar de nuestro pueblo. #segrasur #larodadeandalucía #sevilla

A post shared by Segrasur (@segrasur) on

Click here if you cannot see the post above.

The post translate reads, “Today in our town, we have awakened with a regrettable act of vandalism. The image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which has presided over the Plaza del Sagrado Corazón for more than 70 years, has been decapitated and his hands cut off.”

“:All those who pass by look at the image with a face of desolation and sadness…”

“Hopefully they find the person or people who have committed such horror. And that the image of the Sacred Heart will soon be restored, since it is one of the outstanding monuments of our town.”

Here’s some enlarged photos:

@segrasur, Instagram

@elcuartelillo_osuna, Instagram

Hermandad Ferroviarios La Roda de Andalucía, Facebook

The Catholic Church dedicates the month of June to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and celebrates the feast 19 days after Pentecost.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, please have mercy on us!

[See also: 6 Things You Didn’t Know About the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus]

[See also: 5 Beautiful Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Every Catholic Should Know]

Share this post