Parish bells recovered!

OLMSTED FALLS, OH [MW Diocese Communications] — At around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 28, 2012, Archpriest Michael Butler, rector of Saint Innocent Church, received a call from the Olmsted Township Police Department informing him that the set of brass bells that had been stolen from the parish two days earlier had been recovered.

[See related story here.]

“After the theft, a neighbor informed us that he had seen a car in the church parking lot on Sunday afternoon — a Pontiac — but neither he, nor I, thought much of it,” said Father Michael.  “When the police called me to inform us that the bells had been recovered and that a lone suspect had been taken into custody, their description matched that of the car spotted by the neighbor.  Of course, no one would have suspected that the bells would have been stolen!”

The bells, according to Father Michael, were securely bolted to four-by-four beams at the north end of the exterior of the church, which is situated in a wooded area with little street visibility.

“The thief obviously sawed through the beams to take the bells,” Father Michael added.  “Fortunately, the bells were not damaged.”

The bells are slated to be returned to Saint Innocent’s sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.

“Our next task is to remount them, even as we thank God for their return and for the prayers offered by so many individuals,” said Father Michael.