Two churches in the province of Badajoz have suffered the theft of jewels and other objects linked to religious images in just four days. The most recent case occurred during the early hours of Friday at the church of Santa Catalina in Jerez de los Caballeros, where the perpetrators forced several entrances and took pieces belonging to the Virgin of Our Lady of the Rosary and other images of the Confraternity of Santo Domingo de Guzmán.
The theft adds to the one discovered this same week in Barcarrota, a town located about 21 kilometers away, where the jewels of Our Lady María Santísima del Soterraño, patron saint of the municipality, disappeared. The Judicial Police are investigating the facts and do not rule out that the assault in Jerez de los Caballeros may be related to other thefts of religious heritage recently registered in Extremadura.
Two crowns of the Virgin of the Rosary among the stolen pieces
The assault on the church of Santa Catalina occurred around four in the morning on Friday, September 4. According to sources from the confraternity cited by EFE, the perpetrators forced a side door of the temple and subsequently several interior gates until they managed to access the chamber of the Virgin of the Rosary.
Among the stolen pieces are the two crowns of the Virgin, as well as other religious objects and ornaments. Elements belonging to the Christ that processes with the same confraternity were also stolen. The initial valuation of the set of stolen items is around 50,000 euros.
The thieves remained inside until the alarms installed in some areas of the temple were activated, at which point they fled. The Civil Guard subsequently carried out an ocular inspection and the Judicial Police have taken charge of the investigation.
The images of the confraternity process during Holy Week in Jerez de los Caballeros, declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest, specifically on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.
The jewels of the patron saint of Barcarrota
The assault occurs a few days after another theft of religious heritage was reported in Barcarrota. Last Monday, August 31, the parish priest reported to the Civil Guard the disappearance of various jewels of Our Lady María Santísima del Soterraño, patron saint of this town in Badajoz.
The absence of the pieces was discovered during the preparations for the September patron saint festivities. Unlike what happened in Jerez de los Caballeros, no signs were found that the entrances to the church had been forced and it has not been possible to determine when the theft occurred.
Among the missing objects are small chains, necklaces and medallions given by the neighbors to the Virgin as promises and ex-votos, as well as a baton of command that had been donated to the patron saint by the former mayor Francisca Sosa.
The mayor of Barcarrota, Miguel Rodríguez, explained the consternation caused by the theft, beyond the economic valuation of the pieces. «The town is quite sad not only because of the economic value, but because these are small jewels like little chains, necklaces or medallions that the neighbors wear as promises to the Virgin,» he noted.
The mayor especially highlighted the sentimental value of the stolen heritage: «What they have taken has great sentimental value, like the baton of command that the former mayor Francisca Sosa, very beloved in the town, once donated to the Virgin, and which they also took.»
Two thefts separated by about 21 kilometers
Barcarrota and Jerez de los Caballeros are separated by barely 21 kilometers. The Judicial Police maintain the investigation of the Santa Catalina assault open and do not rule out its possible relationship with other similar thefts that have occurred in Extremadura.
The region has registered other recent attacks against its religious heritage. In March of this year, among other liturgical objects, a silver crown of the Virgin was stolen from the church of Santa María de la Asunción in Baños de Montemayor, in the province of Cáceres. Two years earlier, in March 2024, the museum of the Plasencia cathedral suffered the theft of several pieces, including the crown of the Virgin of El Puerto, in a heist whose value was then estimated at around one million euros.