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The parish community at St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church discovered that their sacred relic of St. Thomas the Apostle from Italy was stolen during a break-and-enter on Jan. 14. The vandals broke glass to steal the treasure of great emotional value to the congregants.
January 20, 2026
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Photo courtesy Holy Family Parish, Whitby
A cherished relic of St. Thomas the Apostle and the key to the Tabernacle were among the items of significance stolen during a break-and-enter at Toronto's St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church Jan. 14.
Fr. Baiju Chakkery, pastor of the church near Kennedy and Lawrence in Scarborough, told The Catholic Register that a religious nun who sets up the 9 a.m. Mass arrived at 7:50 a.m. to discover a state of disorder.
“She noticed that the relic of St. Thomas the Apostle that was kept beside the altar was not there,” said Chakkery. “Then she looked around and noticed the sacristy was open and all the cupboards and drawers. Then she came running to the parish office and saw it was broken into. All the drawers were open and documents were all over the floor.”
The nun contacted Chakkery and associate pastor Fr. Cherusseril. Both priests informed the parish trustees who placed the 911 call.
Toronto police are investigating the break-and-enter. Officers do not have any suspect information for the public and have not confirmed the motive behind the theft.
As of Jan. 19, the parish has not received a single lead from the public.
Chakkery urges anybody with knowledge about the lost items, especially the St. Thomas relic, to do the right thing and step forward.
“The relic of St. Thomas the Apostle is invaluable to us because it is a first-class relic that we received from Italy,” said Chakkery. “It has great emotional value to the people here. It matters for our faith. If somebody is aware or if someone finds the relic, it will be great of them to return it to us.
In response to this sacred space being violated, the parish will upgrade security measures. An alarm system is being installed to complement the CCTV camera. Windows, especially, will be fortified.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at (416) 222-TIPS (8477) or Chakkery directly at (647) 768-1884.
(Amundson is an associate editor and writer for The Catholic Register.)
A version of this story appeared in the January 25, 2026, issue of The Catholic Registerwith the headline "St. Thomas relic stolen from Scarborough church".
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