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Tabernacle worth $2m stolen from a Catholic church in New York City


A gold relic worth $2m has been stolen from New York City’s Catholic church. Also, the head of a statue of an angel has been removed. Police say that someone broke into the altar at the New York City church and committed the crime.

The police said on Monday that the incident occurred at St Augustine’s Roman Catholic church between 6:30 p.m. last Thursday and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The church is also known as the “Notre Dame” of Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood.

During that time, the church was closed for construction purposes. Church’s pastor informed that the church’s security system was also broken into and camera recordings were stolen.

The diocese of Brooklyn has called this act a brazen crime of hate and disrespect.

The diocese also said the metal protective casing was cut through by the thief or thieves clearly with a specialist saw, and then they fled with a tabernacle that dated to the church’s opening in the 1890s.

The tabernacle was a box that contained holy communion items. It was made of 18-carat gold and was decorated with jewels and its value is $2m. According to a guidebook, which is posted on the church’s website, the tabernacle was built in the year 1895 and was later restored in 1952 and then in 2000.

The tabernacle was a masterpiece and was one of the most expensive tabernacles in the country. It had its own security system that involves an electronically operated burglar-proof safe and almost one-inch thick steel plates that enclose the tabernacle completely.

Apart from the tabernacle, the angel statues nearby it was also decapitated and destroyed. A safe in the sacristy too was cut open but nothing was inside. Here priests prepare for the mass.

The holy eucharist, which is the bread consecrated as the body of Christ, was taken from the tabernacle and then thrown on the altar.

The diocese is very much disappointed and says that the tabernacle is irreplaceable because of its historical and artistic importance.

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