![\"20131209_tupa_wcco\"](\"http:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/20131209_tupa_wcco.jpg\")
<\/a>Fr. Jerome Tupa \/ WCCO<\/p><\/div>\n
News of the theft – and Father Jerome Tupa’s wish for a Christmas\u00a0miracle – broke on the morning of December 9, the same day that Saint John’s Abbey released the names of eighteen monks likely to have offended against minors.<\/p>\n
Six of the\u00a0eighteen offending monks worked at the Church of St. Joseph. Tupa [ More<\/a> ]\u00a0is a monk from Saint John’s Abbey.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The missing figurine story was covered by several local media outlets, and is still available on the St. Cloud Times and WCCO web sites.<\/p>\n The pieces were allegedly stolen overnight on November 27, December 3 and December 5.<\/p>\n Father Jerome Tupa contacted the St. Joseph Police Department to report the thefts on December 4 and December 6.<\/p>\n The missing pieces were valued at approximately $2000.<\/p>\n On December 10, several media outlets (including St. Cloud Times, Star Tribune, BringMeTheNews.com and KNSI) reported that the figures had been returned.<\/p>\n Father Tupa told the StarTribune: “They all came back. I have a feeling it was a prank by some young kids and they realized: \u2018Uh-oh, we could really be in some trouble.'”<\/p>\n On December 10, Father Tupa told KNSI that all but the cow had been returned “during the night.”<\/p>\n However, according to a police report [ View as PDF<\/a> ], Father Tupa did not contact the police regarding the returned pieces until December 14,\u00a02013, days after the thieves were reportedly identified as students from nearby College of Saint Benedict (“CSB”).<\/p>\n When he did contact the police, Father Tupa reported that he wanted “no charges\u00a0filed because property was returned.”<\/p>\n According to the police report, the nativity figures were taken by\u00a0“guilty students.”<\/p>\n According to the police report, “College of Saint Benedict will be\u00a0handling the discipline of the guilty students.”<\/p>\n Saint Joseph Police Department Spokesperson MaryBeth Munden wrote (via\u00a0email on December 20th) that the names of the “guilty students” are known but are not included in the police report. She confirmed that the students’ names\u00a0were not checked against any criminal databases.<\/p>\n Spokesperson Munden also wrote that department discussed the matter with\u00a0CSB’s Dean of Students Jodi Terhaar and Head of Security Darren\u00a0Swanson. The department believes that two students are responsible for\u00a0the theft reported on December 4 and one student was responsible for\u00a0the theft reported on December 6.<\/p>\n “Since charges were not pursued,” Munden wrote, “names were not\u00a0entered into any reports,” and, “In this particular case, reports were\u00a0not forwarded to the County Attorney.”<\/p>\n *** The Missing Pieces<\/p>\n According to the St. Cloud Times (12\/10), one of the pieces (a\u00a0shepherd) went missing on November 27.<\/p>\n According to police reports, three wise men (value $600) were reported\u00a0missing on December 4, 2013.<\/p>\n According to police and media reports, seven more figures (Mary,\u00a0Joseph and some of the large animals, value $1400) were reported\u00a0missing on December 6th, leaving an angel and one or two sheep.<\/p>\n *** Reported Nativity Inventory:<\/p>\n 11\/27 1 – Shepherd Removed (12\/10 SC Times) *** Contacts<\/p>\n Father Jerome Tupa (320) 363-2765 The December 9, 2013 headline: “St. Joseph church reports stolen nativity figurines” News of the theft – and Father Jerome Tupa’s wish for a Christmas\u00a0miracle – broke on the morning of December 9, the same day that Saint John’s Abbey … Continue reading
\n12\/04 3 – Three Wise Men Removed (12\/4 Police Report)
\n12\/06 5 – Mary, Joseph, Three Sheep Removed (12\/10 SC Times)
\n12\/10 1 – Cow Still Missing (12\/10 KNSI)
\n12\/06 3 – All that Remain are Angel and 1-2 Sheep (12\/6 Police Report)<\/p>\n
\nMaryBeth Munden (320) 229-9426
\nJodi Terhaar (320) 363-5601
\nDarren Swanson (320) 363-5810<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"