Reports of a series of car break-ins in the district of Viana do Castelo suggest that approximately eight or nine vehicles were targeted, according to local clergy.
“Practically nothing was stolen because there was nothing to steal, only damage to windows,” stated the priest from Rubiães, in Paredes de Coura.
Last week, the Diocese of Viana do Castelo confirmed that the churches of Santa Cruz and Beiral were also burglarized, prompting an ongoing investigation by the GNR.
In both churches located in the parishes of Santa Cruz and Beiral in Ponte de Lima, Pastor Nelson Fragoso reported that doors were forced open and donation money was stolen.
“Upon discovering the break-in, we notified the GNR, which dispatched forces to conduct a forensic investigation. In Santa Cruz, the intruders took money from the church’s lampstand and accessed the tabernacle without desecrating it. They simply opened it and moved the sacrament aside,” explained Father Nelson Fragoso.
The priest noted that there were no significant material damages.
“They broke into the sacristy and, finding no valuables, restricted themselves to stealing money from the lampstand,” he specified.
The Santa Cruz burglary occurred last Thursday night, only uncovered the following morning when parishioners reopened the church.
In Beiral, burglars similarly forced entry, rummaging through the sacristy and meddling with liturgical garments, taking the alms money.
