Saint Anthony Catholic Church is starting off the new year with what the parish priest is calling an act of violence.

Rows of white crosses lined up on a patch of grass not only symbolize the age of Christ, Father Mike Crisostomo explained.

"But also to commemorate the unnamed of the unborn that have been killed," he told KUAM News.

The crosses were erected on Monday in front of the church patron saint's statue including a sign from the Catholic Pro-Life Committee stating "Protect the Unborn Babies." But this morning a parishioner reported they had been vandalized.

"I thought maybe it was the wind, that kind of just blew them down but after looking at it, even with the sign that had been bolted down, it's been taken off its screws," Father Mike said. "You can tell it was definitely an act of violence, an act of vandalism and we reported it to the police already."

The news came as a shock to Father Mike, wondering who and why someone would do this.

"If they have any problems or if they differ with our opinions, we can talk about it and we can certainly agree to disagree," he said. "To disfigure anything like this on sacred ground, it's just unfortunate and it shouldn't be."

It's estimated that in the past five years there have been over one thousand abortions performed on Guam that is up until May 2019 when the physician performing the procedures retired. Organizations like the Catholic Pro-Life Committee have been fighting against abortions in Guam for years and went so far as holding a prayer rally on the lawn of Adelup last June in response to the Leon Guerrero-Tenorio administration's efforts to recruit a doctor who will provide women the right to choose an abortion. By this afternoon, the crosses and the signs were back up, a show of the church's resolve

"It's very unfortunate, that we begin 2020 with this type of act, but you know, that's not going to deter us," Father Mike said. "It's something that will actually motivate us and continue the fight of what we're doing. And the awareness to end abortion and respect life from the moment conception to natural death. "We're going to continue to move forward."