Police release images of suspect in theft of jeweled crown from Virgin Mary statue at Center City church

Police released images and video of the man they say stole a 125-year-old bejeweled golden crown from atop a marble statue of the Virgin Mary at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Center City and asked the public for help in finding him.

Around 1:10 a.m. Saturday, police said, the man broke into the church on the corner of South 13th and Ludlow Streets by smashing through a stained glass window. The burglar was captured on surveillance video breaking through the window, climbing into the upper nave, and going straight to the statue and crown, said church archivist Anne Kirkwood.

A short clip from surveillance footage released by police Monday shows the man, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a face mask, grey sweatpants, and red or pink sneakers, walking up an alleyway on the north side of the church before climbing a fence and disappearing from view of the camera, said St. John’s Pastor Thomas Betz.

After climbing the fence, the burglar crossed a small cemetery on the church grounds before climbing the outside wall of the church and breaking in through a stained glass window, he said.

Other clips released by police show the suspect’s alleged getaway car, a grey Mitsubishi SUV.

The robbery was discovered while church staff were preparing for a baptism on Saturday and found broken glass, then saw that the crown was missing, Assistant Pastor John McCloskey said.

The crown was created by James E. Caldwell & Co. around 1900 from jewelry and gems donated by parishioners to celebrate the church’s reopening after a fire in 1899, Kirkwood said. The church was still assessing a monetary value for the crown, Betz said.

The damaged stained glass window also dates to the church’s reopening in 1902 and was fashioned in Munich, Germany.

On Sunday, parishioners at the Gothic Revival church on 13th Street about a block from City Hall were dismayed to learn of the loss of the crown and the shattered window.

Betz said he was “astonished” at the outpouring of support for the church and the feelings of sadness from parishioners and visitors alike.

The church is popular with tourists, he said, and the parish opens its doors to visitors as well as regulars. About half of the church’s Sunday attendance is comprised of tourists, the pastor said.

The statue of the Virgin Mary and the crown atop its head have always been a focal point of the church for those who visit, he said, and its loss was felt throughout the community.

There’s been an “outpouring of grief and concern and dismay at ‘who would do this?’,” said Betz. “I feel people were proud of the history of the statue and the crown on that statue.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Central Detectives at 215-686-3093 or to submit a tip by calling or texting 215-686-8477.