At right, parishioners peek in stunned silence at the wreckage of the church, which was built in the late 1800s by the ancestors of the people that still live in Berino, which is located about 40 miles west of El Paso, Texas.

Some in Berino said that the devil himself visited them on Ash Wednesday 1995, but sheriff's deputies arrested two boys, ages 11 and 14, and charged them with the crime. Thousands of dollars in damage was done to the church, but many of the items, such as period religious icons and stained-glass, cannot be replaced. Even so, church lay leaders and clergy called for forgiveness and reconciliation.

Left, Berino residents of all ages worked to rebuild their church.





At right, Betty Kidder works to repair the
statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which survived destruction because of the straw in the plaster used in its 19th-Century-
construction. Although Kidder is Protestant and does not attend Immaculate Conception Church, she helped because "It's a horrible shame when a house of God isn't sacred anymore."


Mass at Immaculate Conception was held outdoors during the months the church was damaged, and parishioners weathered temperatures in the 30s on Sunday mornings in March after the vandalism. By July, morning temperatures beyond 90 degrees were not uncommon.

Children perform matachine dances in celebration of repairs on their church.