Cathedral at Nantes Is Targeted by Arsonist, French Catholics Fear Their Religion Is under Attack

VATICAN CITY (RNS) – For French Catholics, the recent fire at the cathedral of Nantes is yet another sign that their religion is in danger. 

Over the past week, they’ve felt both anger and profound sadness after seeing another beloved cathedral in flames, only to learn that the fire was deliberately set by one of their own.

A volunteer who worked as an altar server at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes, France, confessed on Sunday (July 26) to setting the fire that damaged stained-glass windows of the historic Gothic church.

“We are split by contradictory feelings: stupor, incomprehension, anger towards a man who has abused the trust which was placed in him; but also compassion for this man who made this crazy gesture,” read a statement by the Diocese of Nantes published on its website on Tuesday.

The fire at the medieval church came only 15 months after an accidental blaze destroyed the vault and spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris during Holy Week.

For some Catholics, the fire at Nantes is yet another heavy blow to the shrinking community, but also a symbol of Catholicism becoming a minority religion in France.

While Catholics make up 41% of the French population, the number of practicing faithful may be as low as 5%.

And attacks on Christians have been on the rise in recent years.

In 2019 there were 1,052 anti-Christian hate…