Sacred Objects for Worship Stolen from Five Churches in Jura Region
A series of thefts occured in the French region of Jura during the period of August 16th to 28th: A monstrance and a chalice were stolen from both the church in Nevy-sur-Seille and Monteney. In Saint-Etienne Church in Rans, three golden chalices, a small golden ciborium and a silver cup, listed as part of the heritage of sacred arts, were stolen. In addition, a chalice, a ciborium and a paten were missing in Rochefort-sur-Nenon and the collection box in Baume-les-Messieurs was plundered. The police in Dole began investigations and suspected that most of the cases were linked.
After a previous series of burglaries in the departments of Ain and Jura, Jura police had already called for vigilance in April 2015. This time round, the burglars had easy access since churches were usually open for tourists and there was little surveillance. The French newspaper La Croix discussed the option of closing churches to prevent future thefts.
Sources: Voix du Jura, La Croix
Symbolic Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash