Last week, a heartless criminal broke into St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania. He smashed through a priceless stained glass window and stole a historic golden crown. According to church leaders, the crown was worth tens of thousands of dollars and is irreplaceable. The jewelry was stored on a statue of the Virgin Mary, which was the only piece of art to survive a fire that ravaged the church in the late 19th century.
Police are hunting for the suspect whose crime was captured on surveillance footage. In the footage, he can be seen exiting a Mitsubishi SUV and jumping a fence that surrounds the church property. The burglar then smashed a priceless stained glass window to enter the building. According to one of the priests at St. Johns, “That person knew exactly what he was doing.”
‘The video shows he was in and out in about 10 minutes. He came in over here in a fairly narrow window behind the baptismal font, went up, he grabbed a chair, moved the chair over, climbed up on the chair, climbed up on that side altar, and was able to dislodge the the crown,” says the priest. The materials to create the crown were donated by parishioners after a fire destroyed the church in 1899.
Father Thomas Betts was interviewed by local media after the crime. He says the church has been overwhelmed by public support after the crime. Father Betts added, “I really have to commend the Philadelphia Police. They’re trying very hard to find our crown, and I can sense that they really care about this particular crime.” The priest understands that ” people are angry, they’re sad…” and he hopes that someone will be able to come forward with additional information.
He concluded, “It’s hard to see the crown gone. The fact that it’s not there and that we don’t know whether it’s coming back makes me sad to see it.” Earlier this year, we reported on another church-related crime. Wynonna Judd’s troubled daughter was arrested in Albemarle County, Va., on a raft of charges relating to the alleged theft of a church van. Grace Kelley, 28, was taken to Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, according to a police spokesman.
Pastor Kent Hart relayed how “Our green church van and trailer were stolen from in front of our pastor’s home by Grace Pauline Kelley. Grace is currently in police custody.” In a press release, the pastor explained how “crucial” the vehicle is to the ministry and how devastating the damage was to the small congregation. ” Our van is used to haul our church trailer that houses all of the equipment and cooking supplies needed for our Sunday services,” the pastor recounted. ” It is also used to transport congregation members (youth and adults) to and from church on Sunday.”
“The van was damaged during the theft and after being inspected by a body shop, the insurance has determined it to be a total loss. The van was only valued at $3,800 and after the body shop fees and deductible, we are only left with around $2,200. We are a small church and cannot afford to buy another van in the current market,” the pastor explained.
Watch the footage of the crime here:
Pastor Hart graciously forgave Judd’s daughter: “We want the community to know that on a personal level, we have forgiven Grace Kelley.” He added, “We have continued to pray for her reconciliation, rehabilitation, and redemption every Sunday. We hold no animosity toward Grace, and we hope and pray the best for her and her family.”
Featured image from embedded video.