The Tabernacle was stolen this Friday from St. Augustine Catholic Church, known as the “Notre Dame” of Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood.

Police say someone broke into the altar at a New York City church, stole the 1890’s tabernacle valued at $2 million and 'decapitated and destroyed' the angels on either side of the tabernacle.

The Diocese of Brooklyn said May 29 that “the Holy Eucharist housed inside the Tabernacle was thrown all over the altar.”

The burglary was discovered by Father Frank Tumino, pastor of St. Augustine parish, on the afternoon of May 28; it is suspected to have taken place the previous day.

“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,” Fr. Tumino said. “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 said the thief or thieves cut through a metal protective casing and made off with a tabernacle.

A safe in the sacristy was cut open, the diocese added, but it was empty.

The Tablet, the Brooklyn diocese’s publication, reported that while St. Augustine’s has security cameras, “the burglars apparently made off with some components of the video recording system.”
-AP/CNA