Our Churches Are Burning: The Deafening Silence in the Face of a Cultural and Spiritual Disaster

They are burning. For years, in silence, far from the headlines, France’s churches have been attacked, desecrated, and set on fire. Centuries of history are going up in smoke. And France, all too often, looks the other way.

In 2024, 50 attempted arson attacks and church fires were recorded, compared to 38 in 2023—an increase of more than 30 percent. Thirty percent in a single year. If any other place of worship or cultural heritage site were to suffer such a wave of attacks, there would be widespread national outrage. But when it comes to churches, discretion prevails. Aleteia

On average, five thefts are committed each week in French churches. Statues are smashed, tabernacles desecrated, frescoes defaced with graffiti, and bell towers collapse. The 10th-century Church of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand in Poitiers, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was vandalized and set on fire in October 2024, causing significant property damage. A building over a thousand years old, destroyed in a matter of hours. leJDDZenit

A bishop described these fires as “an attack on the spiritual fabric of our nation” and called for greater protection of this heritage. For that is precisely what is at stake. These buildings are not merely stones. They are the living memory of a civilization, a testament to centuries of faith, sacrifice, art, and community. To destroy them is to erase a part of France’s soul. Zeni

nd as these flames rise, thousands of French people are being baptized, rediscovering prayer, and returning to these very same places. There is something poignant about this paradox: the number of those seeking God is growing, while the houses of God are burning.

It is time to protect what we have left. Before it is too late.