Police Seeking $15,000 Tabernacle Stolen From St. Paul Church
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- St. Paul police are looking for a solid bronze tabernacle stolen from a church on the city's east side.
The holy object was discovered missing early Friday morning.
Someone went through an unlocked door at St. Pascal's Catholic Church and took the 50-pound object, which is considered sacred by Catholics.
"In the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist, it is physically, literally, the body of Christ," said the church's pastor, Father Michael Byron. "For that reason, we give it a place of great prominence of great beauty."
The tabernacle sat front and center in the church and meant so much to the families that worship here.
"It is the physical presence of Christ when the mass is not being celebrated, it's the most important single thing we have in the building," Byron said.
That most important single thing was taken, stolen from its perch and rolled right out of the building.
Three young men, who appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties, were caught on camera with the goods.
"We found three young men fleeing down the sidewalk at 3:30 in the morning, the last of whom was physically rolling the tabernacle up the sidewalk," Byron said.
He says it's hard to describe the degree of injury and hurt this theft has caused.
"I can't imagine that anyone having any idea what the tabernacle means to a Catholic would dare do such a thing," Byron said.
Nothing else was taken or disturbed in the church.
In the meantime, the church pulled up a temporary replacement tabernacle from storage.
Yet, the replacement pales in comparison to the tabernacle that was taken, which is estimated to be worth between $15,000 and $18,000.
"You can't replace something that's a family treasure," Byron said.
Police believe thieves took the tabernacle for the value of its metal.
They are hopeful they can track this thing down because it is unusual and it could be hard to get rid of.
Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call St. Paul police.
