Sept. 16--Several relics, including a cross containing a bone of St. Anthony, were stolen from a Catholic church in San Francisco, officials say, and police have asked the public to help track down the pilfered items.
About 8:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, a janitor at St. Anthony of Padua parish in the Mission District saw that the lock on the church's back door had been clipped, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
Once inside the church, the man saw that several relics were missing from a cabinet behind the altar, including two 12-inch gold chalices, a 10-inch silver chalice and a gold cross, police said.
The gold cross is particularly valuable because it has a piece of bone from the parish's namesake embedded inside, police said.
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"The relics -- there's no price on that. It something that we value here because its our patron saint relic," said Rosario Haro, the parish's office manager, who added that the thieves also took a bass guitar. "They're not replaceable."
Church officials believe the burglary occurred some time between 11 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday. The church does not have security cameras, Haro said.
Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to contact the Police Department at (415) 575-4444.
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