[CPProt.net] Church artwork missing

[CulPropProtNet/MusSecNetwork]

Church artwork missing

By Karla Browne, February 19, 2005

  
Mechanicsburg Borough police are appealing to the public to help find a
piece of artwork missing from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mechanicsburg. 

The one-of-a-kind carved mother-of-pearl depiction of the Last Supper
disappeared Feb. 12 from the lobby of the church at 400 E. Simpson St.,
police say.

Although church officials reported the theft Friday, "We think that it
actually happened on Saturday, Feb. 12," says Officer Brandon Bittner. "The
church was open for people to come in and pray and nobody was there."

Bittner says the piece was carved by a Vietnamese man who donated it to the
church, along with a companion piece representing Mary holding baby Jesus,
carved in the same shiny, silvery material. Both are about two feet wide and
three feet tall.

The pieces are not valued monetarily and they are irreplaceable, Bittner
adds.

Church officials were not available for comment before press time.

"If anybody has seen it at anybody's house or in a pawn shop, they can call
and let us know," Bittner says. Call police at 691-3300.

http://www.cumberlink.com/