Thieves steal sacred vessels from St. Francis of Assisi

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

Thieves broke into St. Francis of Assisi Church in New Orleans twice within 24 hours this weekend and walked away with a trove of sacred vessels that had been stored in the sacristy safe and displayed in other areas of the church, Father Michael Schneller, pastor, said June 28.

Among the 15 or so stolen items were chalices, ciboria, reliquaries, a century-old, 18-inch brass crucifix above the tabernacle and even Father Schneller’s 1972 ordination chalice, a gift of his parents.

“They didn’t have enough, so they came back to get more stuff,” Father Schneller said, amazed at the robbers’ brazenness. “We do have an alarm system in the church, but unfortunately, we haven’t been using it, and I didn’t think to turn it on (Saturday) night because I was just so distracted by everything.”

Piecing together a timeline, Father Schneller said he opened the church, located in the 600 block of State Street, between 9 and 10 a.m. on Saturday morning for private prayer during the day and then went to his office. A parishioner told Father Schneller that he was inside the church praying from noon to 1 p.m. and did not notice anything unusual.

When Father Schneller returned to the church around 3 p.m., he could not gain access through the exterior sacristy door, which the robbers had jammed shut. After walking around to the front and entering the church, he approached the sanctuary and noticed that the metal air-conditioning grate of the interior sacristy door, which was locked, had been pushed in to allow the thieves to gain access.

When New Orleans police detectives came following the 4 p.m. Vigil Mass, Father Schneller noticed that the missing crucifix above the tabernacle – which has been in the church for more than a century – had been moved and hidden near a side exit door. The police dusted the crucifix for fingerprints.

“I don’t know if (the robbers) left suddenly, but the crucifix on top of the tabernacle was left by the side entrance by the statue of St. Francis of Assisi,” Father Schneller said. “When I picked it up (after Mass) and put it back over the tabernacle, my hands were all black, and I was wondering where I got all that from. The police had dusted it for fingerprints.”

However, when the church sacristan opened the church on Sunday morning, that same crucifix was missing. This time, the robbers gained entrance by removing the hinges of an exterior side door.

In a Facebook post, Father Schneller said he felt “hurt and violated by this criminal action against our parish church and myself personally.”

“I find it unfortunate that whatever is lacking in these people’s lives has to be filled or satisfied by such unlawful behavior,” he wrote. “Yes, I will pray for their conversion and repentance, which is more important than material possessions no matter how sacred they are. And, now, I will have to investigate the local pawn shops in our area. May God have mercy on them.”

Not everyone in his parish has gotten to that point of forgiveness.

“One of my parishioners told me. ‘I’m not sure I’m there yet,’” Father Schneller said.

Father Schneller said surveillance cameras in the neighborhood may help the police in its investigation. The thieves tried to rip open the votive candle box and the poor box but were unsuccessful.

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at [email protected].