Police are investigating the theft of over €4000 in collection money stolen from the rooms of four priests in Vila Real de Santo António.
The heists came all at once on Sunday (All Saints Day), as the priests were busy taking Mass, writes Correio da Manhã.
They had each stashed collection proceeds, in safes, in their rooms at the “casa paroquial” (parish house).
While the house was empty, the thieves appear to have smashed through the front door with a crowbar and gone straight to the priests’ rooms – where they simply picked up the safes, one by one, and disappeared with them.
According to CM, the thieves were wearing gloves, as there are no fingerprints to be found anywhere.
The priests only became aware of the thefts once they returned to the parish house and saw the front door jemmied open.
Nothing else appears to have been stolen, writes CM.