Marbella church's stolen silver returns five months later

"The person responsible for the theft was someone struggling with addiction who used to come to the parish from time to time to ask for help," Rodríguez said.

The theft was not an isolated incident. It was the second time in six years that the church had been targeted in a similar way. On 8 January 2020, three chalices and four hams donated to Caritas, the Catholic Church's charity organisation, by a catering school were stolen.

Police later recovered the chalices from a second-hand shop and found the hams inside a vehicle. The operation led to the arrest of the main perpetrator and two others.

"We're very used to thefts. They keep happening, and they're often committed by the same people," Rodríguez said. "They're petty thefts, so the perpetrators aren't sent to prison and they just keep happening."

The church also regularly deals with attempted thefts from its candle stands, although these usually involve items of little value. On 29 April, however, the thief found a more valuable opportunity in the sacristy.

The church told police the chalice and ciborium were each worth 1,200 euros, although Rodríguez said their true value was likely higher because they are historic religious artefacts. The church is located just over 100 metres from the central Avenida Ricardo Soriano and marked its 50th anniversary this year.

Rodríguez said staff had to "be very vigilant", but accepted that helping people could carry risks. "It's part of life. It's our mission to help people," he said.

The thief hid the two vessels under his shirt but a female parishioner spotted him. He became aggressive towards her and threatened to kill her before leaving the church with the items.

Police arrested him about a week later. He admitted the offence when he appeared in court and was released, but police did not recover the stolen vessels.

That changed on 16 September, when he handed the chalice and ciborium over to Local Police. Officers had been monitoring him and he apparently decided to surrender the items, which he had been unable to sell.

The priest said selling the vessels through a legitimate business would have been difficult because a buyer could hardly claim they hadn't suspected the items were stolen.

The man is awaiting trial and has been made subject to a restraining order following his threats against Rodríguez and the parishioner who caught him.

Since 23 September, Rodríguez has once again been able to use the chalice and ciborium during Mass. He said he was pleased to have recovered "the belongings of the people of God".