Window broken at St. Rose of Lima Church

A vandal, or vandals somewhere might be tempting intervention by higher powers after throwing a fist-sized rock through one of the windows of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Cheney.

The damage likely occurred Christmas night, but it was not discovered until Saturday, Dec. 26, Fr. Paul Heric, the church's pastor said.

"Things happen but I think it's such a sacrilegious thing, and I think the community needs to know someone did that," Heric said.

A temporary fix using cardboard will have to suffice until the permanent repair can be made.

Heric speculated that damage might be in the vicinity of a few hundred dollars by the time the pane of colored glass is replaced.

"They're not expensive windows, something like stained glass," Heric said.

To Heric's knowledge there has never been any notable cases of vandalism at the church in the past. He did say, however, there has been theft from the house he occupies.

It's very disheartening, "Someone had to say, 'We don't like you,'" Heric said. There were a lot of ways for someone to vent their anger other than a church, he added.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.