(OSV News) — A non-profit foundation comprised of Spanish Christian lawyers announced that it filed a formal court complaint following an apparent church robbery that led to the desecration of two tabernacles and a relic of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in Madrid.

In a video statement posted on its Facebook page Aug. 11, the foundation, Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers), said it filed the complaint for the “violent assault” against the Church of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, which occurred during the early morning of Aug. 1. 

“The foundation is asking the courts to determine whether there was also an intent to offend the religious feelings of the faithful behind this new attack,” the organization said. 

Several rooms ransacked

According to a report by the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians, or OIDAC, several unknown perpetrators forced their way into the parish of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque by breaking the doors of the church’s main entrance.

Making their way to the sacristy, the robbers opened several cupboards and doors, stealing cash, tools and paint that was kept on the premises. They also ransacked and damaged several rooms in the church. 

OIDAC said that since activities in the church were suspended during August, the parish priest had removed consecrated hosts from the tabernacle, but had left the relic of the 17th century French saint. After breaking into the church’s two tabernacles, the intruders removed the relic and left it on the floor. 

“The forced opening of the tabernacles and the mistreatment of the relic constitutes strong reason to believe that sacred objects of particular religious significance were targeted beyond the hope of financial gain,” OIDAC said. 

Parish had been target of vandalism before

Citing several reports on the robbery, OIDAC said that in the months preceding the robbery, the parish had experienced several incidents, “including stones thrown at the church, repeated kicking of the entrances, verbal abuse that disrupted Masses, and acts of vandalism inside the parish buildings.”

“Earlier in 2026, parish facilities were reportedly vandalized on two occasions, including an incident in which excrement was smeared across the walls and ceiling of the toilets,” the organization said. “According to the reports, parishioners had filed several complaints with the police concerning these incidents.”

In its statement, Abogados Cristianos said that it was also making a request to the court for “an investigation into potential offenses of burglary and desecration.”

‘Not a simple robbery’

According to an Aug. 11 report by the Spanish newspaper La Razón, the foundation insisted that both the robbery and the previous incidents be investigated together to determine any correlation and whether there was a deliberate intent to offend parishioners.

Polonia Castellanos, president of Abogados Cristianos, said the act was not a “simple robbery” due to the desecration of the tabernacles and the relic. 

“All of this comes after months of attacks and insults against this parish,” Castellanos said, according to La Razón. “There is sufficient evidence for the justice system to also investigate the desecration and the element of religious hatred.”

Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist.