June 28--ST. PETERS -- A chalice stolen from Sts. Joachim and Ann Catholic Church was returned to its owner Wednesday, and now the man accused of stealing it is in jail.
The chalice, which belongs to the Rev. Noah Waldman, was stolen this month soon after Waldman finished celebrating his last Mass at the church. He is now at St. Joseph in Cottleville.
Waldman, a convert from Judaism, said that traditionally a priest's first chalice is a present from his parents.
But because his father had died and his mother didn't understand the tradition, he bought the $6,000 chalice with his own savings. It is sterling silver and covered in gold and is inscribed with his name and the 2008 date of his ordination.
"That's where the bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Christ," he explained. "It is a sacred object to us. It has a lot of sentimental and devotional value."
Waldman said parishioners had been praying for the chalice's return, but in the meantime, he made plans to buy a new one.
Then on Wednesday morning, Sean M. McDonald, of the 900 block of Cottontail Lane in St. Charles County, turned himself in at a Cottleville fire station after realizing he was a suspect.
The firefighters called police. McDonald admitted stealing from church donation boxes and taking the chalice, police said. He knew the entry code to get into the church because a family member is a parishioner and he had gone into the church many times himself, authorities said.
He took it to a St. Charles jeweler who paid him $100 for it. The jeweler hadn't realized the chalice was stolen and contacted police after seeing news reports about it, police said.
McDonald was charged Wednesday with burglary and theft.
The church has since changed its entry code.
Waldman said the ordeal has been emotionally draining, and that he hadn't expected to get the chalice back.
"It's a nice story with a happy ending in a way," he said. "It's so sad when someone steals something."
Copyright 2012 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
