MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - Police have arrested a suspect after vandalism at the Church of the Gesu on the campus of Marquette University.

Officials say the damage happened Wednesday morning, March 18, in both sanctuaries - just months after a major renovation.

After the 7 a.m. mass, parishioners heard a loud noise.

“There were people here in the upper church praying and they heard the noise from the lower church and went down and saw the vandalism happening,” said Fr. Michael Simone, pastor of the church.

Inside, the damage stretched across both sanctuaries.

“I saw first the vandalism up here which was a lot of broken candles and a couple of broken chairs but the vandalism downstairs were several broken statues, I think about eight,” Simone said.

Marquette University Police say a suspect was arrested around 8 a.m.

“Seems like he was in the grips of a mental health crisis and he went after things that were easy to break, so he made a mess,” Simone said.

Parishioners who saw the aftermath described a heartbreaking scene.

“When we walked up there all the candles were turned over and glass all over the place. It makes me very sad,” said parishioner Fred Corrigan.

Despite the damage, there was also some relief. Church leaders say the upper sanctuary had recently undergone a $10 million renovation, but none of that work was damaged and no one was hurt.

In the aftermath, members of the church community stepped in to help clean up.

“That’s what we Catholics do. My thought was to try to clean the church quickly so we can have a mass,” Corrigan said.

While the seeing the damage was hurt, Simone said the church is focused on moving forward.

“This isn’t going to slow us down. I’m committed to having open doors and to being an important part of this neighborhood and an important part of this city,” he said.