A Maryland man has been arrested after disturbing Christmas mass at two Catholic parishes in St. Mary’s County. Thomas Campbell Bolling Von Goetz is accused of assaulting a parishioner with fruit outside of one church and pouring whiskey into the holy water at another.
According to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, Von Goetz, 56, entered Holy Angels Catholic Church in Avenue on Dec. 24 around 5 p.m for Christmas mass. As he approached the altar, he reportedly dropped an onion in the aisle and behaved in a disruptive manner.
As Von Goetz left the church, a parishioner followed him to ensure that he left the property. However, once outside, Von Goetz allegedly assaulted the parishioner by throwing tangerines at them before fleeing the scene.
Later that night, Von Goetz attended a midnight mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Leonardtown, where he allegedly poured whiskey into the holy water and threatened to harm parishioners.
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As a group of parishioners escorted Von Goetz out of the building, he made several failed attempts to strike them with a whiskey bottle.
The parishioners were able to detain Von Goetz until the police arrived, and Von Goetz was transported to MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital for medical evaluation.
Von Goetz is facing several charges, including second degree assault, disorderly conduct, defacing religious property, religious crime against a group, obstructing a religious exercise, threat of mass violence, and disturbing the peace.
Von-Goetz is being held at the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
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ChurchLeaders has reached out to Holy Angels Catholic Church and St. Francis Xavier Church for comment and will update this article in the event of a response.
