When Father Frank Tumino entered the sanctuary at St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn on Saturday to begin what was supposed to be a beautiful holiday weekend, the cathedral’s sacred space was missing something special – $ 2 million.
Someone who discovered Father Tumino apparently entered the church with a chainsaw, cut the altar of the Holy Eucharist – the items used for the communion ritual – stole the hard gold tabernacle on the altar and beheaded a statue of an angel. The sacred objects taken from the tabernacle were scattered on the altar.
“Knowing that a thief has entered the most sacred space of our beautiful church and made great efforts to breach the security system is a heinous act of disrespect,” Father Tumino said in a statement issued Sunday by the Roman Catholic Diocese. Brooklyn.
The church, a large brown stone building nestled in the heart of the Park Slope neighborhood and known as Notre Dame in the area, began as an anchor for German and Irish Catholic communities in Brooklyn in 1888. The stolen tabernacle, which is solid 18-carat gold , covered with precious stones and valued at about $ 2 million, was made the same year, according to police.
Investigators believe the theft occurred between 5:30 p.m. Thursday and 4 p.m. Saturday, police said. The church was closed at the time and under construction, and the sanctuary’s security cameras were down, police said.
The Brooklyn diocese said in a statement that church officials believe the burglary took place sometime on Friday. A safe in the church has also been cut, but is empty, the diocese said in a statement.
In a statement, the diocese called burglary a “brazen crime of disrespect and hatred.” Police said the crime is not being investigated as biased at the moment. A suspect has not yet been identified, and law enforcement officials are still determining whether the crime was committed by a person or a group, police said.
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