Diocese of Brooklyn called it “a brazen crime of disrespect and hate.”
QUICK FACTS:
- A Roman Catholic church in Brooklyn, New York was desecrated over the weekend when its antique tabernacle was cut out of its metal casing and its eucharist was scattered across the altar, FOX 5 New York reports.
- The 18-karat gold jeweled tabernacle is worth more than $2 million.
- Angel statues behind the tabernacle were also beheaded and destroyed.
- The church’s pastor reported that the camera recordings from the church’s security system were also stolen.
- NYPD is investigating how burglars broke into St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope—which was closed and under construction at the time—sometime between 6:30 p.m. Thursday and 4 p.m. Saturday.
- “This is devastating, as the Tabernacle is the central focus of our church outside of worship, holding the Body of Christ, the Eucharist, which is delivered to the sick and homebound,” said Rev. Frank Tumino, the pastor of St. Augustine, adding, “To know that a burglar entered the most sacred space of our beautiful Church and took great pains to cut into a security system is a heinous act of disrespect.”
- The Diocese of Brooklyn called the crime “a brazen crime of disrespect and hate.”
“ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE TABERNACLES IN THE COUNTRY”:
- The tabernacle at St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church is described as a “masterpiece and one of the most expensive tabernacles in the country, guarded by its own security system,” FOX notes.
- The security system involves an “electronically operated burglar-proof safe” and one-inch thick steel plates that “completely enclose the tabernacle.
BACKGROUND:
- In Catholic churches, tabernacles house the Holy Eucharist, which Catholics believe is the sacramental representation of Jesus Christ.
- The church’s website indicated the tabernacle was built in 1895 and restored in 1952 and 2000.
- “Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website or on Twitter @NYPDTips,” the FOX affiliate posted.
