Nativity Scene Theft Reported at Church in Grone

Case information
Incident date
Country
Italy
Place
Grone
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Theft
Place of Incident
  • Christian Holiday Display / Celebration
Bias Indicators
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Image credit: Pixabay

A theft occurred at the church of Santa Maria Nascente in Grone in mid-January, when two individuals from the Milan area stole a ceramic statuette of the infant Jesus from the church’s nativity scene.

The incident was reported by the parish priest, prompting an investigation by the Carabinieri, who analysed surveillance footage and traced a vehicle seen leaving the area. The enquiries led to the identification of two residents of the Milan hinterland, who were reported to the judicial authorities for joint theft.

*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" tabindex="-1" data-turn-id="request-WEB:47dd3866-047c-4e35-876c-5ba504d681c2-6" data-testid="conversation-turn-12" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn="assistant">

The statuette was later recovered and returned to the parish. In thanking the police, Don Marco Gibellini emphasized that the statuette does not only represent an artistic object, but a symbol of local history and tradition, handed down from generation to generation.

Sources