VIDEO – Historic $2 Million Tabernacle Stolen from NYC Church: ‘Heinous Act of Disrespect’

Amy Furr

A church in Park Slope, Brooklyn, was left in shock after the theft of its tabernacle, a piece of art that is irreplaceable.

The tabernacle inside St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church, dating from the 1890s, was described as a sacred work of art, according to the Diocese of Brooklyn, ABC 7 reported Monday.

Figures of angels near the receptacle were decapitated and the Holy Eucharist was strewn across its altar, which is an act of desecration.

“Its estimated worth is $2 million,” the outlet said, adding the thieves removed the tabernacle after cutting through its metal protective casing.

Photos showed the empty gold casing and one of the headless angel figures.

In a press release Sunday, the Diocese of Brooklyn said the New York City Police Department (NYPD) was investigating a “brazen crime of disrespect and hate which desecrated the most Holy Eucharist and the altar at St. Augustine Catholic Church, located at 116 6th Avenue in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn.”

The diocese said the receptacle was irreplaceable because of its historic and artistic value and asked anyone with information that might help investigators to contact police at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

“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,” explained Father Frank Tumino, who is the pastor of St. Augustine.

“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,” he added.

The incident reportedly happened Friday and a safe in the sacristy had also been pried open but was empty.

“Sadly we’ve come to expect that anything can happen. I think we all just never thought that a sacred space would ever be violated like that,” Tumino explained to reporters:

A neighbor also expressed concern over what took place, stating, “This community is beautiful. We are all parishioners and we all stay together and it’s sad to hear this.”

It remained unclear how the suspects entered the building, but it appeared they exited via the front door.

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