WAILUKU (AP) — Authorities have opened a criminal property damage investigation after the head was knocked off a Father William Chaminade statue.
WAILUKU (AP) — Authorities have opened a criminal property damage investigation after the head was knocked off a Father William Chaminade statue.
Officials at St. Anthony Junior-Senior High School said a teacher discovered the damage to the 83-year-old statue outside the school Monday morning.
“It was beheaded; the pieces were all shattered,” said Art Fillazar, director of admissions at the school. He added that a vandalism report has been filed with police.
Officials are not sure whether the damage was caused by vandals or a 3.6-magnitude earthquake that struck the island early Monday.
“I understand that the head fell off, but nothing else happened to the statue. It wasn’t painted or graffitied or anything else, and it’s a very tall statue,” said Betsey Gunderson, the head of the school.
Damage to the statue, which was installed at the school in 1933, has been estimated at $750. School officials were working to determine next steps for getting it repaired.
“It is a beloved icon,” Gunderson said. “He stands for a lot of what we believe in terms of family spirit and adaptation and change and doing good for the world.”
Blessed William Joseph Chaminade was a French Roman Catholic who survived persecution during the French Revolution, according to the Catholic Online website. He founded the Society of Mary, which has had a large influence on the St. Anthony school.
Father Chaminade was beatified by Pope John Paul II in September 2000, a step toward sainthood.