Holy items stolen during break-in returned to Yokuts Valley church

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno County church's holy items have been returned after a break-in over the weekend.

On Wednesday, the items stolen from the Saint Rita Mission in Yokuts Valley were found on the doorsteps of a non-affiliated church on Shaw and McCall avenues in Fresno County.

The items also came with a note asking for them to be returned to Saint Rita's.

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office returned the items to the mission Wednesday afternoon.

"While the Church community, Fr. Arias and Bishop Brennan are glad the items were returned to the parish, it is disheartening and alarming that the Holy Eucharist was not returned with the items," said Chandler Marquez, director of communications with the Diocese of Fresno. "We as a faith community offer up prayers of thanksgiving for the items we recovered, but also still pray for the individual who did not return the Holy Eucharist."

The original story follows:

The theft at the Saint Rita Mission in Yokuts Valley was discovered over the weekend.

There are no signs of forced entry, but the suspect is believed to have used a crawl space in the back of the church to get inside.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Fresno says several items were taken - including a chalice and unconsecrated wine.

The item of most concern is the Tabernacle, which contains the Holy Eucharist.

Now, the Diocese is asking the the items to be returned, no questions asked.

"Those items mean something to that mission community 305 but at the very least, consecrated holy Eucharist back. That's Jesus Christ," said Chandler Marquez, director of communications with the Diocese of Fresno. "If that is returned, it can be returned to any parish or Catholic church within the diocese or the mission itself."

The holy items stolen are estimated to cost a few thousand dollars.

The theft has not impacted the masses.