The Polícia Judiciária (PJ) has recovered approximately 400 pieces, mostly gold, offered to the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora d’Aires in Viana do Alentejo, Évora district, which had been missing since August 2009, over 16 years ago.
In a statement sent to Notícias ao Minuto, the security force did not disclose where the pieces were located, how and when they were recovered, or if there are any suspects detained.
The inspectors noted only that the recovered items were handed over “by the PJ and the Public Prosecutor’s Office to the Archbishop of Évora, D. Francisco Senra Coelho,” on Monday, November 10.
The PJ further stated in the same note that although the items vanished in 2009, their disappearance was only reported to the PJ about 11 years later, in June 2020, by the Archdiocese of Évora.
The missing (and now found) items are part of a “collection of offerings made by the faithful who pilgrimage to the Sanctuary.” Among the pieces, deemed a “treasure” for being offerings delivered over the years at the Sanctuary to the venerable image of Nossa Senhora de Aires, were two halos, one in silver and the other in gold, both adorned with precious stones and of high historical and patrimonial value.
