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The two foot tall cross was stolen late Tuesday night...
The church severely damaged.
Many of the church members learned about this Sunday during services and they are taking this crime very personally.
The stained glass windows at the Shrine of Saint Therese show the damage left by vandals.
Thieves broke through the inch-think glass to get into the church.
And they stole anything metal they could carry, including a two foot tall cross – a gift from the
In the center of the cross, according to the
“All of us who were sitting in there Sunday we got so emotional because it's like you want to scream at someone and you don't know who to scream at,” said Carol, a parishioner at St. Therese.
She has attended services there for more than 30 years.
She's not the only one infuriated by the crime.
“Being a parishioner it was like someone breaking into your own home and taking or just having their way with whatever they wanted,” said Richie Padilla, who has attended St. Therese for ten years.
The crooks ripped brass fasteners off the front of the priest’s vestments.
They took candle sticks and other items.
Neighbors like Carol are worried.
“We have so many transients going through this neighborhood. On any given day they're in the park over there,” said Carol.
Some of the items from the church can be replaced.
But the cross cannot.
“I don't want a name I don't even care who did it if they return what that they took that's all I care about,” said Carol
“Everything that goes around comes around. We'll see what happens with it eventually,” said Padilla.
The hope is that the person who took the cross will return it.
If you have any information on where the cross is or who's responsible contact