Thief makes sign of the cross after stealing image from chapel on the coast of SP A man stole the image of Our Lady of Lourdes from a chapel in Praia Grande, on the coast of São Paulo, and made the sign of the cross while escaping. The crime was recorded on the internal monitoring circuit and the suspect's behavior caught the attention of those responsible for the location (watch above). "It's so curious that I don't know how to interpret it. It would be comical if it weren't tragic," said businessman Rubens Prado Junior, coordinator of the Espírito Santo e Mãe de Deus chapel, which belongs to the Santo Antônio Parish. ? Click here to follow the new g1 Santos channel on WhatsApp. The crime occurred on Friday night (3), when the man broke into the church located on Avenida Jorge Hage, in the Aviação neighborhood. To g1, Rubens said that the image was in a kind of 'grotto' in the chapel's courtyard and the faithful missed it the next day. Thief made the sign of the cross after stealing an image from a chapel in Praia Grande Reproduction and Personal Archive The coordinator decided to check the monitoring cameras until confirming the theft. Rubens said he believed that the man prayed before the crime, as he remained still for a few moments looking at the image. “The thief arrived, went to the image, said a prayer, then took it away and, when he got close to the exit gate, made the sign of the cross”, described Rubens. Thief stole an image of Our Lady of Lourdes from a chapel in Praia Grande (SP) Reproduction and Personal Archive The representative of the chapel registered a report for theft on Monday (6), in the 1st Police District (DP) of Praia Grande. According to him, the community is confident in the recovery of the image due to the impact of the case. “It carries an inestimable religious and emotional value, as it had been in the chapel for many years”, he explained. In a statement, the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP) informed that the Civil Police are investigating the theft in an attempt to identify the person responsible and locate the object. Suspect made sign of the cross after stealing from church in Praia Grande Reproduction VIDEOS: g1 in 1 Minute Santos