In a Brazen Treasure Heist in France, Thieves Rammed a Medieval Cathedral With a Tree Trunk and Made Off With Precious Artifacts

Thieves broke into a French
cathedral early this morning and made off with priceless treasures
in a brazen heist that the local bishop has called
“sacreligious.”

Witnesses report that three
suspects rammed into the cathedral in Oloron-Sainte-Marie in
southwestern France with a tree trunk strapped to their car. Inside
the church, they quickly sawed through steel bars and smashed
protective glass to access silver chalices, gold objects, and other
treasures from the medieval cathedral. They fled the scene in a
second vehicle. 

The cathedral, which is a UNESCO
world heritage site, had an alarm system, and local residents were
awoken by the noise at around 2 a.m.

“I condemn in the strongest
terms the attack perpetrated last night against the cathedral of
Oloron-Sainte-Marie,” the French culture minister, Franck
Riester, tweeted
this morning. “I share the emotion
of the Catholics of France who are legitimately shocked by this
theft and defacement. Those responsible will be found and
punished.”

Experts are assessing the damage
and cataloguing the stolen loot, which a town official, Laurent
Paris, says is “considerable,” according to AFP.
“Over and above the monetary value, residents now find themselves
cut off from their history and their heritage,” Paris says.
Officials did not want to estimate the cost of the damage,
telling local
media that “we do not
want the thieves to know exactly what they have in their
hands.”

The missing items include
priestly garments that were given to the local bishop by Kind
François I in the 16th century, as well as gold crosses dating from
the 17th and 18th centuries.

Local police are examining the
CCTV footage, and forensic investigators from the nearby city of
Pau have been called in to help.

In a statement, the bishop for
the region of Bayonne, Lescar, and Oloron, Marc Aillet, condemned
the theft as “sacreligious,” because some of the artifacts are
still in use for religious ceremonies today. “I hope that the
agents of this crime and the heritage that was stolen in this
incident, which was fortunately well documented, are found,” Aillet
says.

The post In a Brazen Treasure Heist in France, Thieves
Rammed a Medieval Cathedral With a Tree Trunk and Made Off With
Precious Artifacts appeared first on artnet News.