2025-11-16 20:00
publication
2025-11-16 20:00
Portuguese police have recovered 400 stolen valuables, mainly thanksgiving votive offerings, stolen in 2009 from a Marian sanctuary in Viana do Alentejo, in the country's central south, church authorities said.
According to Archbishop Francisco Senra Coelho, head of the archdiocese in Evora, most of the recovered valuables were gold jewels donated to the sanctuary, including: to decorate the image of Our Lady, the so-called Nossa Senhora d'Aires.
He recalled that the valuables that were robbed from the baroque temple in August 2009 included, among others: a golden crown decorated with precious stones decorating the image of Mary.
The valuables recovered by the officers after 16 years, according to a statement from the Portuguese police published on Tuesday, are mainly golden votive offerings of thanks from the faithful “collected in the sanctuary for years.”
The 18th-century sanctuary in Viana do Alentejo has been included in the list of Portugal's tangible national heritage since 2012. It is a popular pilgrimage site, especially between July and October.
From Lisbon Marcin Zatyka (PAP)
zat/ sp/
