Theft of St. Mary’s Church Bell

Tofield RCMP Investigate Theft of St. Mary’s Church Bell Near Holden

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

On Jan. 22, Tofield RCMP were alerted to a theft and mischief to St. Mary’s Church near the Village of Holden. Suspects stole the 98-yearold church bell, ripping it from the bell tower.

Surveillance video shows an older model blue Dodge dually with a push bar in front and a white canopy, followed by a white/silver SUV or Van, dragging the church bell and pulling it off.

Church Secretary-Treasurer Eileen Komarnisky shakes her head in dismay while surveying the badly damaged bell tower and pile of lumber near the sacred building that was maliciously ripped apart by vandals in the early morning hours of Jan. 22 between 2:26 am and 2:53 am according to surveillance video.

“I just don’t understand. What are they going to do with it?” She said it’s a landmark in the area and doesn’t know why anyone would want to destroy the building to get a bell, although there have been similar thefts at a couple of other churches.

Komarnisky said she was returning home from mass at St. Gregory Catholic Church in Holden when her daughter told her the shocking news that the church bell had been stolen.

One of the suspects’ vehicles.

(Tofield RCMP/Submitted Photo)

“We had a merchant in Holden, Mr. Black, and he donated the bell to this church in 1925. The bell is marked with the name of the church and the year it was installed.”

She hopes whoever has the bell will bring it back. “I would love to have them drop it off. Drop it off and no charges or anything would be laid.”

Komarnisky says the church was built in 1907. Ukrainian Catholic Church of The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, better known as “St. Mary’s South Holden” became a Registered Historic Site in 1994 under the Province of Alberta’s heritage program.

If you have any information regarding this crime, or the individual(s) responsible, please contact Tofield RCMP at 780-6623353. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.

Church Secretary-Treasurer Eileen Komarnisky showing the extensive damage.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)