Police: Solid gold religious vessel worth $10,000 stolen from church

By Cory James

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — Police are looking for a man suspected of stealing a religious item worth $10,000 from a Catholic church in the Bronx.

According to police, the suspect stole the solid gold religious vessel, called a monstrance, from Saint Barnabas Roman Catholic Church on East 241st Street.

It happened around 7 a.m. on June 25.

The man was inside the church for about an hour before he went to the lower level and took the monstrance, police said.

Police released a picture of the man they are looking for.

“It was upsetting,” churchgoer Deidre Brady told CBS2’s Cory James.

“It’s disappointing,” churchgoer Tom O’Sullivan said.

“It’s beautiful,” churchgoer Patrick Maloney said. “The Holy Eucharist, and you can see it.”

While congregants are not with what he is accused of doing, they are finding it in their hearts to forgive.

“Pray for him,” O’Sullivan said. “What can you say? People get caught up with different things in life.”

CBS2 reached out to the church but did not hear back.

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