MASSACHUSETTS COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM CHURCH WHDH-TV - New England News - Police searching for church thieves

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- Authorities are on the hunt for whoever broke into the St. Mary of the Assumption Church, stole cash, laptop computers and caused interior structural damage.

The church is also home to the St. Mary of the Assumption Elementary School, and the Notre Dame High School, which occupies the second and third floors of the same building.

The damage inside the church was extensive, beginning with a statue of Our Lady of Mercy being found on the floor with a chipped base, crown and nose. The perpetrator also pried open the church's safe and stole $700 in cash, police said.

Offices inside the building, at 250 Hampshire St., were also ransacked. In addition, thieves managed to access the Notre Dame High School in the upper levels of the building and stole 15 laptops and an undetermined amount of cash. No money was taken from the elementary school, which also occupies the building.

Church officials cannot understand why someone would steal from the church, especially since the season of Lent has just begun.

The church is concerned about repairing the damage to the church since the parish is already facing financial difficulties. The parish has a $47,000 deficit and the weekly collections during Mass never meet the $7,500 weekly bill to operate all five of its parish buildings. The property includes the 1,200-seat church, the grammar school, the rectory, the friary and the Notre Dame Education Center.

Police said they have interviewed church employees and followed some leads, but the investigation is still ongoing