(LifeSiteNews) — A major fire destroyed the belfry, roof and framework of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer near Calais in the north of France early Monday morning.

It soon became clear that the blaze was the result of arson after traces of breaking and entering, probably through a stained-glass window, were discovered in the building. The fire started in the nave and in one of the aisles.

Approximately 120 firefighters were able to extinguish the main fire by 7:15 a.m., saving some of the mid-19th century, neo-gothic church’s inner furnishings but not the organ. The church had undergone a thorough restoration and reopened in 2018.

In an interview with BFM.TV, a national news site, Fr. Sébastien Roussel, a local parish priest, stated, “We were able to save what was most important, the tabernacle, the holy Hosts.”

Fr. Roussel, who was called to the scene as soon as the firemen reached the burning church, was given permission to enter the burning building to grab the most important works of art.

“There were no listed historic works,” he later told La Voix du Nord. “But I wanted to evacuate the Blessed Sacrament! And also the reliquary bust of Saint Cornelius,” he explained.

He was able to go on to salvage a number of statues, including one of Our Lady in front of which the local faithful would come to pray. Because of the flames, he failed to move out the recently restored Way of the Cross, but it appears not to have undergone much damage.

In de-Christianized France, the church dedicated to the Immaculate Conception had continued to offer Mass every other Sunday. On the day before the fire, a congregation of 300 attended.

Joël Vigoureux was arrested Monday evening and questioned by police. Vigoureux, 38, who had previously set fire or attempted to set fire to as many as 15 churches and been found guilty of 10 attacks on property and Catholic buildings, had only recently been released from prison.

According to the regional daily La Voix du Nord, Vigoureux had previously been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in 2019 for having set fire to the church of Equihen-Plage near Boulogne-sur-Mer in the same part of northern France. He was released in early 2021 and immediately set fire to eight other churches in the region. These and other attacks on property led him to be sentenced again for 3 1/2 years after having been found guilty of “theft and destruction.” During his trial, the individual explained that he targeted churches “because all priests are pointers” (as convicted pedophiles are called by fellow prisoners in France).

He was once again set free on the condition that he undergo socio-judicial supervision with compulsory psychological and psychiatric treatment for three years. Vigoureux, a dropout who was living in a group home at the time of his most recent arrest, in now once again an arson suspect of a Catholic church.

Local public prosecutor Mehdi Benbouzid offered in a public statement on Tuesday morning a number of details related to the suspect and his long criminal record, adding that he was “known for similar acts of destruction by fire” and that an indictment for “destruction by fire by dangerous means for motives related to religion.”

This clearly places the incident in the category of “anti-Christian” hatred, or “racism” as it is legally named in France, and while the suspect would appear to the layperson to have some kind of a personality disorder, he has certainly been deemed fit to answer for his acts given his previous condemnations.

It’s an interesting development, as the justice system only rarely names anti-Christian “racism” in public indictments (even when suspects clearly give it as a motive for their offenses), in contrast with cases where other religious communities, such as the Muslims, are targeted. Since 2017, a new law established that when “racism” and “discrimination” motivate a criminal offense, they are to be considered as an aggravating circumstance

The French “General Alliance against racism and for the respect of French and Christian Identity,” known as AGRIF, will submit a request as a civil party to the trial in order to represent the interests of Catholics insofar as the arson was committed because the church of Saint-Omer, which under French law is a property of the state, was attributed to Catholic worship. The AGRIF is legally qualified to take judiciairy action in such cases.

Many Christian, conservative and nationalist sources have underscored the fact that the suspect, while having proved over a number of years that he was a multiple repeat offender and obviously constitutes a danger for the Catholic heritage of his part of France, has been empowered again and again to commit new attacks – this is indeed likely among the reasons why the police targeted him as the possible arsonist in the latest case and the arrest was made within 24 hours of the fire.

Considered innocent until proven guilty, Vigoureux does have a public record of his personal preferences and interests on his social media accounts. A native Frenchman, he follows rap music and sex sites as well as information on “persecuted peoples” such as Palestinians and Blacks.

According to the Observatoire du Patrimoine Religieux, a non-profit association that keeps tabs on the religious property heritage in France, 27 churches were damaged by fire in France in 2023 and 12 during the first six months of this year. Many of these fires are due to accidental causes, but in a number of cases, arsonists have been to blame. In previous incidents, young local Satanists have been found guilty of arson and of other acts of anti-Christian vandalism.

Apparently, Islamic attacks have also been perpetrated. Only recently, during the night of July 14-15, a remarkable 19th-century church with a metal structure in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, Notre-Dame-du-Travail (Our Lady of Work), was covered with hostile graffiti, including “Submit to Allah, infidels, pray 5 times a day” and “Bast … Jesus, only one god Allah.” The church’s organ was also destroyed.

A smell of fire when the building was opened by the caretaker on July 15 proved that attempted arson had taken place. Even worse, a statue of the Virgin Mary was found in a sink in a room next to the church with a kitchen knife through its neck and blasphemous inscriptions.

Secularism and anti-Christian hatred, whatever its inspiration, are making their presence more heavily felt in France. The number of anti-Christian acts is rising, with nearly 1.000 officially registered incidents in 2023, 90 percent of which target churches or cemeteries, according to the French ministry of the Interior. Most anti-religious acts in France are aimed at Christian, mainly Catholic targets, followed by attacks against Jews, with Muslim targets far behind, although the two latter categories include a larger proportion of attacks against persons, according to official statistics.