By Eirann Van Natta
The Church of the Immaculate Conception went up in flames Monday in yet another instance of a French church burning to the ground, leading to speculations on the origins of their destruction.
The church burnings highlight the tensions brewing in France’s secular and multicultural country, and its immigration policies have come under increased scrutiny. Weak church structures, bias against Christians and mass immigration have all been brought up as potential factors in the onslaught of church burnings.
The church of the Immaculate Conception was nestled in the northern French town of Saint-Omer, and its bell tower collapsed from the fire. Prosecutors announced Tuesday that police arrested a man in relation to the incident, LeMonde reported.
A Saint-Omer prosecutor told Agence France-Press the man was known for previously committing “similar acts.”
France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin stated in a Twitter post Monday that an investigation was underway to “determine the exact origin of the fire.”
The church was completed in 1859, and it reopened in 2018 after being restored, reported the French outlet LeMonde.
Le feu qui s’est déclaré cette nuit dans l’église de l’Immaculée-Conception à Saint-Omer, dans le Pas-de Calais, est désormais maîtrisé. Toutes mes pensées aux catholiques et aux habitants de Saint-Omer, @fdecoster.
Merci aux 90 sapeurs-pompiers mobilisés.
Une enquête est…
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) September 2, 2024
A church burns down every two weeks in France, President of the French based Observatory of Religious Heritage Edouard de Lamaze told the French site 76actu in 2021. (RELATED: People Fall To Their Knees In Prayer As They Watch Notre Dame Burn)
Lamaze explained many of the churches are not properly maintained and weakened over time. He said it is the responsibility of local authorities to care for churches, while the state is responsible for the maintenance of monuments and cathedrals.
Two-thirds of religious building fires, however, are caused by arson, Lamaze told the Catholic News Agency that same year. He stated that in France, one mosque is built every 15 days while “One Christian building is destroyed at the same pace.”
Churches keep burning down in France.
Last night, the church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer was completely destroyed.
40 churches have burned since January 2023.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) September 2, 2024
While Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral succumbing to flames in 2019 gripped the world, many other smaller French churches were attacked and vandalized, reported the National Catholic Register. Although the vast majority of churches attacked have been Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches also suffered, according the Register.
In May of this year, a statue of Mary was beheaded and church benches were lit on fire in a French town, according to the outlet la Nouvelle République. (RELATED: FACT CHECK: Does This Map Depict Churches And Cathedrals That Have Caught Fire In France?)
An official with France’s Ministry of Interior stated there were nearly 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023 during a radio interview with a French outlet, reported Christian Daily.
🚨UPDATE #ARSON: A man was taken into police custody today after a huge fire largely destroyed the 19th century Church of the Immaculate Conception in #SaintOmer, northern #France.
French police recorded nearly 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023. pic.twitter.com/0zbHHt7l9k— Observatory on Intolerance against Christians EU (@OIDACEurope) September 3, 2024
In 2018, an estimated 80-200 members of the group “Coordination for Undocumented Migrants” protested in the Basilica of Saint-Denis on a Sunday against French legislation seeking to control immigration in the country, reported LaCroix International.
Police arrested a Rwandan immigrant — already under investigation for allegedly setting fire to the Nantes cathedral in 2020 — for allegedly murdering a Roman Catholic priest in 2021, Reuters reported. A year prior, three people were killed in an Islamic terrorist knife attack at a Notre-Dame basilica in France, according to the BBC.
Marie Le Pen, leader of France’s right-wing National Front Party, has consistently criticized mass immigration, which has become an increasingly heated issue in Europe.
Marine Le Pen: “Mass Immigration has been a disaster. I will immediately expel ALL Islamist extremists, because there is no reason to keep people in our country who represent a danger to the safety of French citizens.”
Every European country must do this immediately. pic.twitter.com/juw0eNaLSx
— Cillian (@CilComLFC) August 5, 2024
The UK was embroiled in riots and protests over immigration, and Ireland has also experienced clashes over migration. Sweden cracked down on illegal immigration earlier in 2024, including by introducing a proposal to legally require workers in the public sector to report illegal immigrants, The Guardian reported.
France is not the only country suffering a slew of church burnings — since 2021, 33 Canadian churches have been engulfed in flames, CBC News reported in January. At least 24 were reportedly confirmed arson attacks. (RELATED: Pope Francis Continues Apology Tour Sparked By What Could Be ‘The Biggest Fake News’ In Canada’s History)
The church burnings came in the wake of unsubstantiated reports that 215 unmarked graves of indigenous children were discovered at a Catholic-run school in Canada, according to Catholic News Agency. Roughly half of the churches affected by fires were Catholic while the rest were other denominations, including Evangelical, Anglican and United.
