Diocesan News
Safe stolen from Armagh Church
SAFE STOLEN FROM ARMAGH CHURCH
25th January 2004
Thieves last night (Saturday 24th January) stole a safe from Annaghmore Parish Church, in County Armagh. The thieves gained access to St Francis Church by means of keys which were stolen earlier in the day from the home of a local parishioner.
No damage was caused to the church building and the safe was the only thing stolen. The safe contained parish records detailing baptisms, marriages and burials from 1856 to the present day. No money or other valuables were taken. The parish records are of no monetary value but are of great historical and sentimental value to the parish and wider Church of Ireland as they detail important events in the lives of the parishioners of Annaghmore from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards.
The Rector, the Revd Paul Whittaker, has appealed for the contents of the safe to be returned to either himself or the local police.
Further information from:
THE DIOCESAN COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
St. Michael's Rectory
66 Main Street
Castlecaulfield
Dungannon
Co. Tyrone
BT70 3NP
Tel: 028 8776 1214
Fax: 028 8776 9095
DCO: The Revd Shane Forster