Sts. D&R Collection Stolen

During Groundbreaking

By Sandy Vondrasek Cooch

Sunday’s celebratory mood at Sts. Donatian & Rogatian came thudding to earth Tuesday, with the realization that Sunday’s offering had been stolen from the church, after the congregation headed off, following mass, to the groundbreaking ceremony on Route 66.

Sts. D&R pastor Fr. John Milanese spoke to The Herald Tuesday, shortly after he concluded that the money was indeed missing, and not just mislaid. His shock and dismay were evident.

Some of the contributions would have been by checks, which can be reissued, but the cash represents a loss to both donors and the church.

As the congregation has been struggling for years to raise funds for their new $1.4-million church, the theft of Sunday’s significant collection comes as a real blow.

"I’m sick, I’m just sick over this," Milanese said.

Normally, he said, he secures the collection after mass, so that it can be deposited by church secretary Norma Nadeau on Monday.

Sunday, however, was anything but normal at Sts. D&R. The church was packed for the 10 a.m. mass, which was led by Bishop Matano, with other diocese leaders assisting. Almost immediately after the service, Fr. Milanese, Bishop Matano, and the others exited the church for a TV news interview and to travel to the groundbreaking.

Milanese remembers seeing the offering basket in the sacristy, but admitted that in the excitement of the day’s events, "I never gave it another thought."

The church, he said, was left open, and the theft probably happened sometime after everyone left for the groundbreaking.

Fr. Milanese estimated that the collection, placed in a blue bag in the basket, totaled more than $2000.

Milanese and others went on to a fundraising dinner after the groundbreaking. Then, with Sunday’s storm gaining force, Milanese left Randolph to make the difficult drive home to Barre.

The whereabouts of the collection arose as a matter of concern Monday, when Nadeau called the priest at home to ask where the collection was.

"Jeepers, I don’t remember," he said he told her. "It must be in the church."

Nadeau, however, was unable to find the blue velvet bag that held the offering. Milanese, who takes care of his 89-year-old mother at the family’s Barre home, was unable to come to the church Monday. Milanese said he was initially delayed by the storm, and then by a family problem—his mother’s dog fell ill and had to be euthanized.

Milanese remained hopeful that the offering was somewhere in the church, or in the safekeeping of a parishioner: "I didn’t want to raise a false alarm."

However, after scouring the church Tuesday, Milanese concluded by mid-afternoon that the money was gone.

Yesterday, Randolph police said a $500 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thief or thieves. Chief Jim Krakowiecki stressed that the names of anyone with information "will definitely be protected."

Officer Loretta Stalnaker is handling the case and the RPD number is 728-3737.