Approximately 6,000 euros was stolen from the New Church of Caniçal this morning. Locals had raised the money stolen as part of the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy.
Parish priest Élio Gomes shared that they discovered the money was missing at 10:00 this morning when he arrived at the church. The church had been locked around 12:30 a.m., and everything appeared fine. However, when he returned this morning to prepare for a funeral, he found the doors had been forced open. The intruder(s) had broken a window, accessed the church office and sacristy, and stolen a large sum of money hidden in a drawer.
The Public Security Police (PSP) was immediately called and took care of the occurrence. The Judicial Police arrived shortly afterwards, and the crime scene was cordoned off and fingerprinted.
Caniçal recently celebrated the feast in honor of Nossa Senhora da Piedade, a renowned parish festival.
