Cape Town, 16 May, 2020 / 2:15 am (ACI Africa).
Some of the items stolen from Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt Cathedral of Cape Town Archdiocese, South Africa’s oldest Cathedral, have been positively identified and recovered, the Cathedral Administrator has confirmed.
The 169-year-old church, also known as St. Mary’s Cathedral, was desecrated on April 18, the perpetrators making away with sacred items, among them a ciborium, a pyx, four silver candelabras, a gold plated chalice, and two gold plated patens as well as some money from the votive candles box.
The recovered items were positively identified on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13 at the evidence room of Central Police Station in Cape Town, the Cathedral Administrator, Fr. Rohan Smuts has disclosed in a statement dated Thursday, May 14.
“We (Fr. Rohan and Fr. Luigi) were presented with two silver candelabra, that were situated next to the tabernacle, and four cardboard boxes of various metals,” Fr. Rohan stated in the two-page message and continued, “Upon inspection we discovered a further two silver candelabra in pieces as well as four gold-plated candelabra also in pieces.”
Also recovered was a Ciborium that was in the tabernacle, a chalice and paten set, a paten dish and the large sanctuary lamp, Fr. Rohan has noted in the statement published on the Cathedral’s Parish Facebook Page.
