PORTLAND, Ore. — The second sacred item stolen from a Catholic church in SW Portland, a golden monstrance, has been recovered after nearly a month, the Portland Police Bureau reports.
During the overnight hours of May 28 and May 29, 2024, the St. Michael the Archangel Church at 424 Southwest Mill Street was burglarized. Two holy items important to the congregation were stolen, a tabernacle and a golden monstrance.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police recover beloved golden tabernacle stolen from SW Portland Catholic church
Church members put up flyers around the neighborhood offering a reward for the return of the items, and on June 15 a woman reached out to the church and said she had the tabernacle and wanted to return it.
The PPB facilitated the return of the tabernacle, and says the woman is not the suspect who stole the religious items. However, the monstrance remained missing.
However, on the night of June 19, the PPB says the Enhanced Community Safety Team, Special Emergency Reaction Team, and Crisis Negotiation Team served a search warrant in Southwest Portland related to the burglaries at St. Michael Church.
During the search, detectives learned the last known location of the stolen monstrance. They followed up on that tip and were able to recover the monstrance in Northeast Portland. Police have not provided any other information on the theft or possible arrests as of yet.
The monstrance was immediately returned to St. Michael Church, where it joined the recovered tabernacle.