A church building that was constructed in the United States when the country was still a British colony has been damaged by vandals.
Mission San Juan Capistrano, located in California, was built in 1776 by Spanish Catholic missionaries. It was the 7th of 21 Spanish missions built in California according to the Missionās website. Church officials Friday said someone had tagged the historic structure with graffiti. Officials have not yet said if the vandalism was a random act or if the mission was targeted.
The mission has been temporarily closed until further notice.
āMission San Juan Capistrano remains committed to preserving the religious and historical significance of the site,ā says a post on the missionās Facebook page.