Savannah's Catholic Cemetery Vandalized

It's an act that's almost unthinkable...and a crime that draws a felony charge and big penalties in the state of Georgia...vandalizing a cemetery. Savannah's Catholic Cemetery fell victim just two weeks ago. The first sign of trouble noticed by groundskeepers back on august 7th was the head knocked off the angel monument at one of it’s oldest graves...in the following days they noticed much more. Cemetery Manager Alex Hagan says, “The heads of the angels were knocked off and it's kind of a clean break at the neck.” Some statues - one of the Virgin Mary, another of an angel were knocked down - a cross also torn from it's pedestal. In total - more than half a dozen monuments damaged, apparently all in one night according to Hagan, “We think it was the same night because we'd gotten a lot of rain that week and then that Friday morning we come and there was marble dust at the big monument in the old sections - it'd been raining just about every day that week so that dust hadn't been washed away yet.” Leaving some footprints behind and the heads of some toppled statues imbedded in the soft ground...for others, the heads were simply gone.

Gillian Brown, the archivist for the Savannah Catholic Diocese says, “It makes it all the more difficulty to accept when you find that a beautiful monument in marble or granite carved by you know, a skilled artisan, has been smashed to pieces.” For those whose descendents can be located - the families will have to bear the cost of repair or replacement - for some there's simply no one left and the Diocese has to figure out what to do says Brown, “We’re going to have to come up with some sort of realistic idea of how much the repairs might cost - some of this, there's no way to repair - there's no way to reproduce something that old.” Local monument companies and experts at S.C.A.D. have to be called in to help. The Diocese is looking into additional security at the cemetery - starting with lighting at night.

If you know anything about the damage to the cemetery - you are encouraged to call Metro Police or Crimestoppers.. If they are caught, the vandals could get up to 3 years behind bars for the crime. If you own a cemetery plot - you should check with your homeowner's insurance to find out if the property is covered under your general policy. If it's not - you should ask about adding it. A few dollars now could save you a lot more in the future.