Three sacred artworks stolen from Spanish churches as police investigate
Three sacred artworks have been stolen from churches in Spain.
The latest account, published on 15 September, puts the number at three. Spain's National Police is investigating. ARTnews
Earlier Spanish reporting centred on two suspected thefts in two churches in central Valladolid. Both happened on the same day. Valladolid is a city in central Spain with several historic parish churches. Heraldo
One of the missing pieces was described as a carving of an angel measuring 65 centimetres. That is small enough to carry. Police are treating the two Valladolid cases as suspected theft, and inquiries are continuing.
Sacred art is a term for religious objects kept in places of worship. Such works are often old, made for devotion rather than display, and they can be difficult to secure. Many churches stay open during the day for visitors and worshippers.
The thefts have surfaced weeks after a warning from Europol, the European Union's police agency in The Hague. On 24 August Europol published a report titled 'Changing tactics, changing targets: the evolving nature of museum heists'. It published a news notice on the same day titled 'Museum heists turn violent: new Europol report on cultural property theft tactics'. Europol
Cultural property theft means the stealing of art, antiques and other heritage objects. In its notice, Europol said analysts are seeing more violent and forceful tactics in museum heists. That includes break-ins that use speed and physical force rather than stealth.
The agency also said thieves are increasingly going after high-value items such as precious metals. Gold and silver objects are common in both museums and churches. They hold a clear resale value even when separated from the work itself.
For anyone who loves wandering into an old church, this matters. Small parish collections rarely have the guards, alarms and locked cases of a large museum. A missing angel only knee-high shows how quickly a piece can vanish from an open building.
Police have not publicly linked the Spanish church cases to the trend described by Europol. The investigations in Valladolid are still under way.
