BOSTON --- A man has been arrested by Boston police following a bizarre incident last week outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in which he was observed breaking off the arms of the 150-year-old crucifix and swinging from its legs in an unsuccessful attempt to tear it down.
Michael Patzelt, 37, of Attleboro, southwest of Boston, was subsequently arraigned for malicious destruction of property and vandalism to a church. His lawyer told the judge that Patzelt's grandmother had died a couple of months ago, that he was now homeless, and that he might have mental health issues.
He was ordered to be held on $5,000 cash bail, with a continuance date in late November. He has an extensive record in Massachusetts and Florida for vandalism and related crimes.
The Cathedral of the Holy Cross was built in 1875 and was designed by Tipperary native Patrick Keely, who had come to the U.S. in 1842 at age 25, settling in Brooklyn as a carpenter.
Four years later he designed Saints Peter and Paul Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and he eventually dominated U.S. Catholic church architecture throughout the latter part of the 19th century.
The crucifix itself, which will now cost about $20,000 to repair, was donated to the cathedral by the Little Sisters of the Poor in Somerville and was placed on the lawn in 2021. Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who resides in a modest rectory at the cathedral, spoke at the time of the donation about how appropriate it was for the crucifix to be seen by visitors coming to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.
Reaction to the news of the latest Catholic church desecration included both condemnation and relief that someone is being charged.
Executive Director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts C.J. Doyle, said in a press release that he concurred with the statement of Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden that "the level of venom and destructiveness displayed by this individual is difficult to comprehend."
Doyle and leaders of other groups, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians, are demanding that such widespread acts of vandalism at Catholic churches be prosecuted as "hate crimes."
"The Archdiocese of Boston must resist its reflexive compulsion to dismiss the offender as a poor soul in need of mental health therapy," Doyle said.
"After more than fifty unpunished attacks on Catholic churches in Massachusetts in the last decade it is time for someone to go to jail."
