Caught on camera: Thief steals monstrance, chalice from West Side church

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Caught on camera: Thief steals monstrance, chalice from Manhattan church
It happened Tuesday at St. Francis Church on West 31st Street in Manhattan.

MANHATTAN (WABC) -- The NYPD is looking for a man accused of an unholy act that was caught on camera.

You can see the suspect take a chalice and a song book right from the altar!

It happened Tuesday at St. Francis Church on West 31st Street in Manhattan.

The suspect also swiped a monstrance, which was found on a train.

"The worker from the MTA called me this morning to make sure that I was going to get it, that it wasn't going to end up in somebody else's hands," said Father Andrew Reitz, St. Francis Church.

The stolen chalice and the song book are worth around $5,000.

Police say, the suspect got away via the N-train at the 34th Street Station.