Abbey’s Victorian chalice stolen

AN ornate 150-year-old communion chalice has been stolen from an abbey as the monks were preparing Mass.

The £4,500 gem-encrusted silver gilt cup, which was made in Birmingham, was taken just minutes before the Cistercian brothers were due to hold their public Eucharist service at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey on Sunday.

The enamelled decorative cup, which is nearly a foot tall, was placed on a side table ready for the altar in a part of the church where only the monks are allowed.

Abbey prior Father Joseph said the chalice, which contains the communion wine, had been used in every service and new monk’s ordination since it was struck in 1861. “It is a big blow,” he said.

He expressed surprise someone was able to remove the cup as it was placed in the sanctuary, on the other side of the barrier from where public worshippers were gathering for the 8am service.

“We’re puzzled as to how person did it,” said the prior. “It must have been done very quickly, and they did it without being noticed.

“Whether it was a person who was just very con-

a fident and so nobody noticed or it was done in a quick moment, we don’t know.

“People were church at the time.” He added it was still not clear if the abbey, which is set in relative isolation in the Leicestershire countryside near Coalville, was specifically targeted by thieves. The early Victorian chalice, made in the Gothic style of Augustus Pugin, is thought to have been made by Hardman & Co of Birmingham.

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