Cotton Port, LA: St. Mary’s Catholic Church Burglarized

COTTONPORT, La. – Someone broke into a Catholic church in Cottonport and stole nearly 100 thousand dollars worth of religious items.

Dora Andress has attended St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Cottonport since she was a child.

But when she entered the sacristy to set up for Mass on October 20th, she found something she never thought she’d see.

“Walked in and saw that the cabinets had been broken into,” Andress says. “Opened it, and there wasn’t a chalice, nor a ciborium, or anything in there.”

This padlocked cabinet had been broken open, and several traditional religious items had been stolen. Solid gold ciboria, ruby-encrusted chalices, some custom-ordered from Italy. Police estimate the loss at nearly 100 thousand dollars.

“And there’s nothing left,” says Andress.

Detectives say while burglaries are common, burglaries of a church are not.

Police are offering a cash reward to anyone with information leading to an arrest.

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