87-year-old nun catches and restrains thief in her convent

As reported by Spanish daily La Razón this past October 20, the religious sister, who belongs to the monastery of Santa Clara in the old part of the city of Palencia, Spain, courageously confronted a presumed thief who was trying to steal from the convent.

Around 6:20 p.m., the nun noticed that a woman had entered the convent. Apparently, she had entered the building through the cloister’s turnstile and was trying to steal, taking advantage of the fact that the nuns were praying in the chapel.

Despite her 87 years of age, the nun confronted the woman and even physically struggled with her. She managed to restrain the woman until the police arrived. The police officers, upon arriving and seeing what had happened, were surprised by the audacity of the brave elderly nun, who wasn’t afraid to confront someone to keep them from stealing from the convent.

The last thing the 45-year-old woman must have expected was this kind of resistance and outcome. She was arrested by the police and taken to the holding cells of the Provincial Police Station of Palencia, to be taken to court.

The nun was tended to by the medical services who went to the convent, although she was found to be completely unharmed.

Apparently, it wasn’t the first time the woman had tried to steal from the convent of Santa Clara in Palencia, an imposing 15th-century Gothic building. The nuns reported that some time ago they caught her escaping from the place, after they had realized that money was missing from the monastery. However, at the time they decided not to file a complaint and let the incident pass.

This time, however, the situation was more serious, involving danger to the life of the elderly sister. So the case is likely to go to court. Cadena Ser reports that the woman is also the presumed perpetrator of two other cases of breaking and entering and burglary from another church in the same city this past September and October.

As for the alleged thief, she will hopefully have time to reflect on her actions and ask for forgiveness. In the history of the Church, thieves have the opportunity to find a place of joy with God once they've repented of their misdeeds. St. Dismas, the Good Thief who was crucified next to Christ, is their patron saint, and in our days there are more than a few who have discovered the power and beauty of God’s mercy towards all of us.