SUBIACO -- The altar at Subiaco Abbey will be less ornate and more mobile for a while as monastery officials rebuild the marble altar after a man broke into the church and damaged it.
The Logan County sheriff's office was called Thursday afternoon to Subiaco Abbey church, where it was reported someone had entered, taken a hammer to the large, marble altar and stolen two relic boxes embedded in it, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.
Each relic box reportedly contained three relics from saints from over 1,500 years ago, the release states. Someone also had "messed with" the tabernacle near the altar, but didn't damage it, according to the release.
"The altar itself had a very large hole in the middle of the slab that went all of the way through the altar and the altar had large cracks and chips," the release states.
A sheriff's deputy arrived at the church soon after the call. The deputy spoke with witnesses and took pictures of the damage, then left, according to the release.
Soon afterward, the vandalism suspect returned to the church. Abbey officials again called the sheriff's office, and deputies arrived and arrested Jerrid Farnam, 31, who is from the Subiaco area, according to the release.
Deputies reported finding Farnam's vehicle on scene with tools containing marble dust on them. One of the reliquary boxes was found in the pickup and later returned to the abbey, according to the sheriff's office. The other is still missing. Deputies also discovered Farnam had entered a nearby vacant house, and an item missing from that house was also found in his pickup, which was seized and towed, the release states.
Farnam was taken to the Logan County jail. No bail had been set as of Friday afternoon.
The sheriff's office said anticipated charges are theft of property, criminal mischief in the first degree, residential burglary, breaking or entering and public intoxication.
Due to the nature of the destruction, it is difficult to estimate the cost of the items stolen and destroyed, so the investigation is continuing and the charges may change, the release states.
Neither the sheriff's office release nor the statement on the church's website gave further details on the still missing relics. Calls to the abbey were not returned Friday.
The church released a statement on its website Thursday saying that, due to the desecration of the altar, Abbot Elijah Owens and the monastic community will undertake the penitential rite, reparation for the desecration and offer a Mass of Reparation.
"In accordance with the prescriptions, the altar of the church has been stripped bare and all customary signs of joy and gladness have been put away," the post states. "Due to the extensive damage to the main altar, the monks will use a portable altar until necessary provisions are made for the repairs."
Subiaco Abbey, originally called St. Benedict Priory, is a member of the Swiss-American Congregation of the worldwide Benedictine Confederation, according to the group's website.
Subiaco was founded by three monks of St. Meinrad Abbey in Indiana: Father Wolfgang Schlumpf, Brother Kaspar Hildesheim and Brother Hilarin Benetz, and was soon "adopted" by the motherhouse of St. Meinrad, the Abbey of Maria Einsiedeln in Switzerland.
In November 1877, an offer of land for a new Benedictine foundation in Arkansas was made to Abbot Martin Marty of St. Meinrad Abbey by the Little Rock-Fort Smith Railroad Co.
The abbey also operates Subiaco Academy, an American Roman Catholic day and boarding school for boys founded in 1928. It serves about 150 students in grades 7-12.
Jerrid Farnam