‘Drunk British tourists’ steal golden Jesus statue from church and smash it leaving locals ‘in pain’

Two suspected British tourists smashed a stolen statue of Jesus from a 15th-century church in Lithuania.

Footage shows a man carrying the statue away from the Shrine of Divine Mercy in the old town of Vilnius on Tuesday on while his friend filmed him and laughed.

The figure’s arm suddenly breaks off and shatters to the ground.

It is believed the men are British as they are speaking English and appear to have an accent from the North of England.

The church’s priest Elijas Anatolijus Markauskas has appealed for help to identify the two men involved.

On the evening of November 11, 2026, a man vandalised a sacred monument outside the Shrine of Divine Mercy (Dievo Gailestingumo ?ventov?) in the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania. CCTV footage captured him ripping a golden statue of Jesus from a wooden cross in the courtyard and carrying it onto the street to pose for photos, resulting in the statue falling onto the cobblestones and shattering.The Shrine?s priest, Fr. Elijas Anatolijus Markauskas, has shared the CCTV video footage on his public Facebook page showing how these British tourists behaved. We are reaching out and asking for your help in publicising this appeal?such barbaric and disrespectful behaviour is completely intolerable, and the person responsible must be held accountable.Lithuanian Police have launched a pre-trial investigation into public order offences and have officially released CCTV images appealing to the public to help identify the man. Witnesses and police reports confirm that the suspect and his companions were speaking English, and based on the video footage, he appears to have a regional UK accent (potentially from Northern England / the Borders area).
On the evening of November 11, 2026, a man vandalised a sacred monument outside the Shrine of Divine Mercy (Dievo Gailestingumo ?ventov?) in the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania. CCTV footage captured him ripping a golden statue of Jesus from a wooden cross in the courtyard and carrying it onto the street to pose for photos, resulting in the statue falling onto the cobblestones and shattering. The Shrine?s priest, Fr. Elijas Anatolijus Markauskas, has shared the CCTV video footage on his public Facebook page showing how these British tourists behaved. We are reaching out and asking for your help in publicising this appeal?such barbaric and disrespectful behaviour is completely intolerable, and the person responsible must be held accountable. Lithuanian Police have launched a pre-trial investigation into public order offences and have officially released CCTV images appealing to the public to help identify the man. Witnesses and police reports confirm that the suspect and his companions were speaking English, and based on the video footage, he appears to have a regional UK accent (potentially from Northern England / the Borders area).

He said: ‘At night from November 11 to 12. near the Vilnius Divine Mercy sanctuary a statue of Christ was torn and broken from the cross.

‘I’m in pain because it’s not just a sacred thing. This is the image of the one we love, to whom we pray and entrust the world, the Homeland, our loved ones and ourselves.’

The broken remnants of the statue have been left in the spot it was taken from with flowers.

Vilnius Police said: ‘On November 11, at about 9pm in Vilnius, Dominikonų St., from the inner courtyard of the church, an unidentified person broke a golden sculpture of Jesus hanging on a wooden cross.

‘The damage is being assessed. A pre-trial investigation has been initiated under Article 284 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania.’

Original source ‘Drunk British tourists’ steal golden Jesus statue from church and smash it leaving locals ‘in pain’

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