A $50,000 reward is being offered to anyone that can help with the return of a gold tabernacle which was stolen from the altar of St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn, New York in May, 2022. The gold statue is said to be worth $2 million.
This offer was announced on Tuesday in a statement by the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, Robert Brennan.
According to Brennan, the offer of reward to anyone with useful information about the stolen tabernacle was made by the insurance company which covers the diocesan properties.
In addition, a $3,500 reward is being offered by the New York Police Department for anyone that can help with useful information.
Brennan said in the statement, "We continue to pray for the one-of-a-kind Tabernacle, made possible by the original parishioners of St. Augustine, to be returned and then restored, in all its glory, to the heart of this church. However, the theft of this historical item has not robbed the faith of the people of this parish."
The theft was discovered by The Park Slope church's priest, Father Frank Tumino.
The Police reported that the theft of the 18-karat gold tabernacle occurred around 4pm on Thursday, May 28, 2022. The thieves were also suspected to have forcefully cut open the altar with power tools in order to get to the tabernacle.
They were said to have destroyed the Holy Eucharist and the angels flanking the relic at the altar. Officials of the diocese noted that the tabernacle is irreplaceable due to its historical and artistic value. The church was built in the late 1800s.
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