Priest catches man breaking into Philadelphia church's 'poor box' days before Christmas: police
Man breaks into Philly church's 'poor box' days before Christmas
Parishioners at Our Mother of Consolation Church in Chestnut Hill say they are deeply upset after their church was burglarized just days before Christmas, an incident that also involved a break-in to the priests’ private residence.
PHILADELPHIA - Police are searching for a man who investigators say fled a Philadelphia church after a priest caught him stealing from the "poor box" days before Christmas.
What we know:
Police say a priest at Our Mother of Consolation Church was in his second floor bedroom on Dec. 20 when he heard a loud noise at the front entrance of the church.
Priest catches man breaking into Philadelphia church's 'poor box' days before Christmas: police
Police are searching for a man who investigators say fled a Philadelphia church after a priest caught him stealing from the "poor box" days before Christmas.
When he went to investigate the noise, police say he witnessed an unknown man breaking into the "poor box" in the main church worship area.
The suspect fled after he saw the priest and was last seen heading north on Germantown Avenue.
What they're saying:
Pastor John Fisher walked FOX 29 through the church, pointing out the exact doors where the suspect forced his way inside.
"Behind you, he broke into this door, which leads into the church," Fisher said, showing where the intrusion occurred.
Surveillance video shows an unidentified man wandering through the church after Philadelphia police say he broke in late Saturday, December 20.
Fisher says the suspect made his way to a poor box, which was empty, apparently looking for money.
Fisher then showed where the suspect entered another door inside the building.
"This is the door he came in," he said.
According to Fisher, parishioners are upset that someone would violate their place of worship.
"Our parishioners are very, very upset," Fisher said. "This is their home. This is where they come to pray, to be together, to be healed and forgiven. The people were violated."
The situation escalated when the suspect also broke into the attached residence where the priests live.
One of the priests, who was upstairs at the time, heard the break-in and went to investigate. When the suspect realized he had been seen, he fled.
"That’s the residence where the three of us live," Fisher said. "We’ve never had anyone invade our private space, so that was a little freaky."
While only minor damage was done to the church doors — which has already been repaired — church officials say the suspect stole a passport and a personal letter from the residence.
The letter belonged to one of the priests and had been written by his younger brother, who passed away on Christmas Eve.
Despite the intrusion, Fisher says he is grateful no sacred vessels, statues, or other religious items inside the church were damaged.
"We’re grateful there wasn’t any destruction of our sacred items," Fisher said. "We pray for the gentleman. The world is hurting, but there are places to go for help."
Local perspective:
Neighbors in Chestnut Hill say they are appalled by the crime.
"That is terrible," said resident Joyce Rowland. "Why would anyone do something like that?"
Mary Henry, another resident, said the incident is especially difficult given the church’s recent struggles.
"It’s sad for the church because they’ve been working so hard since the fire," she said.
The burglary comes just months after Our Mother of Consolation rebuilt its school following a devastating three-alarm fire in 2023. Despite the latest setback, Fisher says the parish will continue to move forward.
"They rebuilt the school," Fisher said. "We’ll get through this."
What you can do:
The Philadelphia Police Department shared video of the suspect inside the church at the time of the incident.
The suspect is described as a bald Black man wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans with white sneakers.