Please pray for peace!
The nuns at the Daughters of St. Paul (also considered the Media Nuns) fell victim to looting attacks at their downtown Chicago Pauline bookstore. Sr. Anne, FSP, announced the incident via Twitter.
Here’s the post below:
Sr. Anne’s full tweet reads, “So last night our bookstore in Chicago was looted. I’ll bet people were really disappointed when they got home and found that all they had to show for it was a handful of religious books.”
However, the Pauline sister further elaborated in a blog post that “though we assumed they would have stolen at least a few items…a quick inventory shows that they seem to have left without taking a single saving Word. What a let down!”
Sr. Anne told ChurchPOP that the thieves merely took cash.
Sr. Anne also explained how the incident occurred, saying the religious order readied their store for a grand reopening after a two-month lockdown.
“By Saturday afternoon, the sisters removed the Blessed Sacrament from the bookstore chapel and locked themselves upstairs, Sr. Anne said on her blog.
“At 3:00 AM on Pentecost morning, they heard the glass break. Both of the automatic doors were shattered, and the front plate-glass display window.
“Oddly enough, it seems that the looters entered very calmly, not toppling or even disturbing the display unit right in front.
“Because the bookstore had been closed for so many weeks, the cash drawers were closed. Ordinarily, they are left open so that opportunistic thieves can help themselves without causing further damage. This time they broke through the counter.
And then the looters left.”
The sister added that her heart breaks for the small businesses “whose losses are incalculable.”
“Considering what so many others have suffered across the country, we are getting off lightly. My heart is breaking for the small business owners who watched their livelihoods go up in smoke, their losses incalculable, their pleas unheard by callous ideologues bent only on making a statement without regard for the cost that others (not they) would have to bear.”
Sr. Bethany, FSP, posted photos of the damage:
Sr. Bethany’s post reads, “Our Sisters in Chicago are all safe, but our book center was broken into and looted last night during the riots. Please pray for our Sisters. And pray for peace.”
Here’s the enlarged photos:
To help the sisters with their store’s recovery, please click here.
Please pray for the Daughters of St. Paul and all small businesses affected by this tragedy!
[See also: Caught on Tape: Rioters Spray Profane Graffiti on St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York]
[See also: End Crisis & Division: A Powerful Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows for Peace in the United States]