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For decades, the garden-lush, tree-canopied grounds of the Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park have inspired serenity and reflection.
But recently, a statue of St. Michael near the entrance left broken in shards has brought a very different feeling.
“Sadness,” said Dominick Peloso, deacon and director of operations at Vallombrosa, which has served as a haven for religious and spiritual retreats since 1947. “This is a beautiful statue to remind us of St. Michael and his work for the Lord.”
Badly damaged, it’s now a reminder of an act of vandalism committed by an unknown interloper. Peloso is seeking the community’s help to find the perpetrator and raise funds to replace the statue.
The center at 250 Oak Grove Ave. was in the process of fundraising to beautify the area around the statue, Peloso said. The project would add a tile path and some benches to create a kind of shrine.
“Now this is a $1,500 setback,” he said of the vandalized statue, which measured about four feet in height and depicted the archangel with a sword trampling Satan.
“We would like to have the public assist in finding the person or persons who did this, whom we pray for, and assist in restoring the shrine,” Peloso said.
About a month ago, he said, a Vallombrosa employee found the statue demolished. It looked as if someone took a large tree branch to the statue, shattering it into pieces. The branch was left next to the statue.
The sword was taken as well. “The sword is missing,” Peloso said. “So if anybody sees somebody wandering around with a sword in their belt, call the police.”
What also bothered Peloso was that it appeared the offender first tried to light the statue on fire. “There were some matches there,” he said, “but the burning didn’t work.”
Vallombrosa has had the statue for about five years, he said. “I found it on the Internet. There is a company that produces that particular statue.”
An online search turned up the same-looking statue made by specialty-décor company Design Toscano in Illinois.
The company offers a St. Michael garden statue made of polyresin with a finish to resemble marble and harkening to a Baroque work by Italian painter Guido Reni (1575-1642).
Vallombrosa reported the vandalism to police. Menlo Park police spokesperson Nicole Acker said the case remains under investigation.
Peloso noted that a similar vandalism incident occurred several months ago at nearby St. Patrick’s Seminary & University at 320 Middlefield Road. He wondered if there could be a connection.
But Acker said it’s unlikely.
“They do not appear to be related at all,” she said. “They’re different circumstances.”
On Easter weekend last year, a transient allegedly vandalized the statues of Biblical figures Mary and Joseph at the seminary. Vatical was arrested and accused of burning the statue of Joseph by igniting a Duraflame log at the base and throwing an egg on Mary.
For those wishing to donate to help Vallombrosa replace the St. Michael statue or pursue its beautification project, email Peloso at dominick@vallombrosa.org.
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