Haut-Rhin: a priest faced with a very bad surprise after his midnight mass at Christmas

Shocking! The parish priest of the village of Ammerschwihr, Haut-Rhin, near Colmar, was robbed on Christmas Evereports France Blue. Still in shock, the priest was absent from his home as he was celebrating Christmas midnight mass in a neighboring town. The burglars took advantage of this occasion to invite yourself to his home on December 24 in the evening. Our colleagues from France Blue explain that the parish priest Alain Riegert was in Sigolsheim. The door to his apartment was broken down and the entrance to the presbytery would also have been forced. Items from several Christmas quests were also reportedly stolen.

“I saw this on my way home around 1:30am. The door to the presbytery had been forced open. The door of my private apartment too. We stole the collections for the last funerals and then part of the Christmas collection for the first mass at 6 p.m., the family mass. I am in shock.“, explained the priest Alain Riegert. “Already the symbol of the presbytery. Then the symbol of Christmas night where you have just celebrated the nativity. To find yourself faced with this rampage, the messy affairs, the money gone. It’s a hell of a trauma“, he added. The gendarmes are quickly intervened and an investigation was opened.

Watch out for burglars between Christmas and New Year’s Day

TF1 News recalls that it is essential to watch out for burglaries between Christmas and new years day. During this period, burglary would be 18% higher compared to the rest of the year. An increase which is explained by the departure on vacation, but also by the presence of Christmas gifts. 237,000 burglaries were recorded in 2019 during the holiday season.