Assorted pieces of jewelry adorning the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe inside its glass case in Saint Joseph the Patriarch Parish in barangay Mabolo, Cebu City were stolen last Saturday.
Security guard Archie Valencia, who discovered the theft on Saturday morning, said a gold necklace, rings, and a nurse’s pin were believed to have been taken during Saturday’s dawn rosary.
Valencia said he couldn’t give an estimate of the value of the stolen jewelry.
He said the items were donated by devotees.
Investigation showed that the perpetrators broke a portion of the glass case.
There are no security cameras inside the church.
This is the third time that a church got burgled this year.
Last month, the San Pedro Calungsod Shrine at the South Road Properties lost P100,000 cash and an undetermined amount of checks to burglars.
A thief also stole the jewelry of the Virgin Mary inside the Redemptorist Church last month.
Police were still investigating the incident./Correspondent Chito O. Aragon