Historic churches in Chilean capital set ablaze by protestors

Groups of hooded protesters entered two churches in Chile’s capital city Sunday and set them ablaze.

Both churches are among the oldest in Santiago.

The spire of the Church of the Assumption collapsed as the church burned, drawing cheers from demonstrators protesting outside the building. The interior of the St. Francis Borgia Church was gutted by the fire, and both buildings may be beyond repair.

On the wall of one of the burnt out churches, protesters wrote “Muerte al Nazareno” which translates as “Death to the Nazarene”.

At least five people have been arrested for setting one of those churches ablaze, with one detained inside the church and four outside.

The attacks came as demonstrators across the country called for a constitution, and marked the one year anniversary of large anti-government protests that took place across Chile last year, during which riots destroyed supermarkets and other businesses, and reportedly caused more than 30 deaths.

The Archbishop of Santiago de Chile condemned the arson attacks and called on Catholics to carry out acts of reparation for them.