Nun killed during attack on church in St. Lucia

CASTRIES, St. Lucia — A bizarre attack on a Caribbean Catholic church that caused the death of a nun has bewildered church leaders on the island of St. Lucia.

On Jan. 1, two men entered the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception with knives and lighted torches during mass and attacked both the congregation and church staff. Sister Theresa Egan, an Irish nun, was severely beaten by the men and died from her wounds the same day.

The men also attacked parishioners with knives, then doused some of them with gasoline and set them on fire. Charles Gaillard, the officiating priest at the mass, was also doused and set on fire. Thirteen people including Gaillard were sent to the hospital with injuries and severe burns.

The attackers, Kim John and Francis Phillip, told police after their arrest that they were followers of the Rastafarian religion and that the attack was an attempt to destroy corruption in the Catholic church, reports the Associated Press.