[VIDEO]: Forgiveness Tested At Sheepshead Bay Church After It Was Burglarized Last Week

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Sheepshead Bay was the victim of a heartless robbery last week but the injustices were quickly amended, according to police.

It happened on Thursday last week when a man walked into the church, at 2016 Voorhies Ave, in broad daylight, around 2pm, and stole two precious artifacts. One was a golden staff that is nearly a century old and the other is a portrait of a beloved saint. Altogether the items are valued at $4,500, according to police.

The man also stole $30 in cash, as if the prized religious items weren’t enough.

The situation was heartbreaking until Sunday morning, when a local parishioner returned the stolen items to the church, according to police. It is unclear where and how the person found the artifacts, but police are still looking for the burglar.

We tried to reach out to the church but there was a language barrier that kept them from answering our questions. A priest there told News 12 that if the thief were to repent, then he would forgive him. It is unknown whether or not charges will be pressed when he is found.

Surveillance footage (below) from the church shows the man calmly walking out of the empty church with the golden staff clearly sticking out of his knee-length tan-colored trench coat.

He is described as a 30- to 45-year old man with medium complexion, medium-length dark hair, and was last seen wearing a tan trench coat, dark pants, and black shoes.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782)
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website atWWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.