Case of 'stolen' crucifix from Drexel shrine in Bensalem is solved. Here's what we know
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Two juveniles who reportedly took a crucifix from the former St. Katharine Drexel shrine in Bensalem will not face criminal charges.
Bensalem Police Sgt. Glenn Vandegrift confirmed on Monday that police identified the boys who were captured on surveillance footage leaving the former shrine on May 11 with what appeared to be a cross that was in the former Motherhouse on the property.
The crucifix was also recovered, Vandegrift said.
“There is nothing more to say in this case,” he added.
More about Drexel shrine property Why is Saint Katherine Drexel's motherhouse boarded up?
Police circulated photos online of the two males after neighbors of Hulmeville Road and Bristol Pike property reported they were seen entering the vacant site and leaving 45 minutes later with a cross.
The former Drexel shrine has been closed to the public since Dec. 31, 2017, and since then, incidents of vandalism and theft, particularly copper pipes and tubing, have been reported, according to police.
The 47-acre former home for the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the order of nuns Drexel founded, was sold to a developer who plans to develop a large-scale age-restricted community, but keep the Motherhouse as part of the project.
A post left in a Bensalem Facebook group over the weekend claimed the reported theft was “no crime.”
The boys found the cross on the Drexel property and took it home to one of their moms, according to the post. The mom left the crucifix at the Mary statue across the street at St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church on Mother’s Day.
“Everyone always assumes the worst and makes rash judgements. The record should be set straight,”Dan Sweeney wrote online. “The real crime is what’s happening to the historical and religiously significant buildings on the property.”
Bensalem police did not answer a question about the accuracy of the Facebook post.
Reporter jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bensalem police have identified two who took Drexel shrine crucifix
