Arkansas abbey church altar smashed, relics from saints stolen
SUBIACO - A marble church altar from Italy was damaged inside the Subiaco Abbey north of Subiaco in Logan County Friday, and a man was arrested after boxes of relics from martyred saints were recovered by sheriff's deputies.
Jerrid Farnam, 31, who is from the Subiaco area, was arrested at the abbey after he allegedly smashed it up, stole two relic boxes, and then returned, Logan County Sheriff's office reported.
Deputies were called Thursday to the abbey located in Logan County about 6 miles east of Paris.
On Monday, Abbot Elijah Ownes was busy talking with insurance adjusters, marble specialists as plans to make repairs were underway, a spokeswoman for the abbey said.
A call to the sheriff's office stated a person had gone into the church and damaged the altar with a hammer.
Sheriff Jason Massey said a tool was found in a truck that had a sledgehammer on one side and an axe on the other. There was another hammer in the truck in the break-in.
Two relic boxes were kept in the altar the St. Benedict Church. Both boxes were missing when a deputy arrived. There was a large hole in the middle slab that went through the altar. The small, brass-colored boxes, called reliquaries, were relics from saints from more than 1,500 years old, the sheriff's office reported.
The altar is made from marble imported from Italy. Each box had three relics inside.
"This is an act of desecration to the altar. The suspect also messed with the tabernacle that is near the altar but did not damage it," The sheriff's office reported.
After a deputy talked to witnesses, took pictures of the damage, and left, Farnam returned.
Abbey officials called the sheriff’s office and the deputy and a patrol sergeant responded.
Farnam's had tools in his pickup that had marble dust on them, the sheriff's office reported.
One of the relics boxes were found in the truck and later returned to the abbey. The other two were also located and returned.
On the Subiaco Abbey Facebook page a post reads, "Relics returned!"
"Through the swift investigation by Sheriff Jason W. Massey both of our stolen altar reliquaries have now been found and returned to the monastery," the post states.
The reliquaries were sealed into the altar on March 31, 1959, when Bishop Albert L. Fletcher of the Diocese of Little Rock consecrated the altar and church, officials posted.
"The sheriff reported that the man had wanted to break into the tabernacle but had looked up at the statue of Mary and decided he couldn't do that to her."
Church officials reported one reliquary contained the relics of the Martyr Saints Boniface and Tiberius, as well as St. Benedict.
One reliquary contained the relics of Martyr Saints Tiberius, Marcellus, and Justina.
The relics will be placed again in the high altar once repairs are completed, according to the post.
The deputies also discovered that the suspect had entered a nearby vacant house and an item that had been reported missing from the house. That item was found in the truck that was seized and towed.
Farnam was taken to the Logan County Detention Center.
He faces charges of theft of property, criminal mischief in the first degree, residential burglary, breaking or entering, and public intoxication, the sheriff's office reports.
"Due to the nature of the destruction and the difficulty in estimating the cost of the items destroyed and stolen and that an altar was desecrated, the charges may change. The investigation is continuing," the sheriff's office reported.
The Subiaco Abbey is known for a brewery operated by monks.
More:Subiaco Abbey monks brew beer as community outreach
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: An Arkansas man was arrested in an abbey desecration.
