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Monsignor Andrew Varga, pastor of Saint Luke Church, said in an interview Thursday that he doesn't know anything about the woman or why she went on the rampage. He doesn't believe the church was targeted, instead believing it just happened to be the victim of a random attack.
"We don't take it as a deliberate act," he said. He said he and the parish members are hoping the woman gets the treatment she needs.
"We're praying for her, and we wish her well with her recovery," Varga said. The Roman Catholic church is on Long Lots Road.
After the vandalism spree, the woman was taken to Norwalk Hospital for observation. There was no information from Westport Police on any possible charges.
The incident occurred at about 3 p.m. as two young men playing Pokémon Go happened upon the distraught woman and quickly alerted church staff, who then called police.
Varga said Westport Police acted professionally and with respect toward the woman.
He said the church didn't sustain much monetary damage, but it did suffer a spiritual loss as an arm on a 4-foot-tall statue of the Virgin Mary was damaged. A second, smaller one, was toppled. And a third was tossed into a pool.
The woman had gathered items from neighboring properties, such as signs advertising home security services, along with items from the church property, put it in the trunk of her vehicle and then starting throwing it into a baptismal pool, Varga said.
"It was just a very eclectic collection of things," he said.
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