Churches in small Mexican towns install alarms to stem art theft

Published: 2004-07-22

OZUMBA, Mexico (CNS) -- For decades, thieves have plundered the Church of the Immaculate Conception of its colonial art treasures. On the baroque altars, several niches where statues of saints had rested for centuries are empty. Paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries have disappeared into the night, presumably bound for international auction houses and private collections. Earlier this year, Father Rogelio Samora decided enough was enough. Amid a rash of recent robberies in the colonial churches of Mexico state, the priest and community leaders gathered money to install a modern security system in the church, 25 miles southeast of Mexico City. Now motion sensors are positioned at the doors of the 16th-century church and around its gold-leafed altars. For the last six months, a security guard has been present 24 hours a day. "Hopefully this will stop any more robberies from happening," Father Samora told the congregation July 11 after announcing the alarm system was in place.

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