Thieves behind a brazen robbery have made off with a religious artifact valued at over $2 million after cutting it out of a Catholic church in Brooklyn.
A pure 18-karat gold jeweled tabernacle has gone missing from St. Augustine Catholic Church in Park Slope. The tabernacle is more than 100 years old and dates back to when the church was built in the 1800s.
Investigators believe the suspects forced their way into the church, currently under construction, sometime between Thursday and Saturday evening.
The thieves cut their way through a metal protective casing to remove the tabernacle.
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Church officials were horrified to find statues of angels decapitated and destroyed, in addition to the Holy Eucharist that was kept in the tabernacle scattered across the altar.
“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 Father Frank Tumino, pastor of St. Augustine.
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Police released photos of the damage done by the thieves, but so far no surveillance video has turned up any images of the suspects.
