Crucifix Stolen From St. Katharine Motherhouse

The Bensalem Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying two men connected to a burglary and theft at the Motherhouse, located on the former site of St. Katharine Drexel Shrine, on Saturday, May 11th.

The two men were observed entering the closed property and leaving the building about 45 minutes later carrying a crucifix from the Motherhouse, as reported by residents living near the former Shrine.

The Motherhouse, built in 1893, was the home and final resting place of St. Katharine Drexel. She gave up her family wealth, which was worth upwards of $20 million at the time, to devote her life to charitable and missionary work for African Americans and First Nation people. She also founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a congregation of missionary nuns.

Pope John Paul II canonized her as the second American-born saint in the Catholic church, and she is the patron saint of racial justice and philanthropists.

Awaiting redevelopment, the Motherhouse for Saint Katharine Drexel’s Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament has been boarded up and has been the target of theft and vandalism since closing in 2018.

Please look at the photos closely.