Just days after the canonization of Junipero Serra by Pope Francis, the Carmel Mission Basilica was struck by vandals who knocked down Serra's statue and covered several others with paint.
Police are investigating after they said one or more people vandalized a statue of St. Junipero Serra at a mission in Carmel-by-the-Sea this weekend.
About 25,000 people attended the Pope's historic canonization Wednesday of the Spanish priest who established nine of the 22 missions in California.
A large crowd gathered outside the Carmel Mission Basilica to watch the historic canonization of Father Junipero Serra on Wednesday.
A group of South Bay Catholics called the Serrans watched the pope perform a historic canonization ceremony for Father Junipero Serra at a movie theater on Wednesday.