France: Two Canonical Crowns Stolen from Auch Cathedral

The two precious objects, property of the archbishopric, had been loaned to the cathedral Treasury to be admired by the faithful and visitors. Located in “a former ecclesiastical court,” the Treasury was normally well-guarded, according to La Dépêche.

However, Hit FM Radio: L’Esprit Sud Ouest notes, “the thief broke in by using a door that is ‘relatively unknown to the general public,’ a source close to the investigation reported to us. As for the alarm system, it would not have been activated, another source confirmed another sources involved in the case.”

To access the two crowns, the thief or thieves broke the glass that protected the crowned statues. The crowns had been loaned to the cathedral Treasury in 2012 and were being evaluated by the curator.

Canonical Crowns

There are many crowned statues, especially those of Christ or the Virgin Mary. But it is important not to confuse statues that represent a crowned saint, such as those of canonized kings or queens like St. Louis of France or St. Elizabeth of Portugal, with the act of adding a crown to an already constituted statue—that is a canonical coronation.

A canonical coronation is an act that requires papal authorization, which is granted through a Bull, authorizing the placing of a crown, tiara, or halo of stars on an image or statue, due to a particular devotion to this image in a diocese or place of pilgrimage, for example, as Wikipédia explains (in the French article “Couronnement canonique”).

The article continues to explain that the practice began in the early 17th century and was gradually constituted into a special ritual which is found in the ceremonial of bishops, because this act is performed by the Pope—rarely—or by a papal legate, and often, in fact, a bishop.

The two crowns stolen from the Auch Cathedral Treasury were placed on the heads of the Virgin and the Child Jesus during a canonical coronation that took place on Tuesday, May 21, 1929, most likely by the local archbishop, Archbishop Ricard, who had dedicated his pastoral Letter for Lent of the same year to “Mary, Mother of God and Mother of men.”

A souvenir book for the occasion was written by the Fr. Catérède “La basilique Saint-Marie d’Auch, couronnement de Notre Dame d’Auch — 21 mai 1929” [“The Cathedral of Sainte-Marie of Auch, Coronation of Our Lady of Auch — May 21, 1929”]. 

An article from Hit FM Radio: L’Esprit Sud Ouest specifies that both objects “were made of gold and set with jewels and diamonds,” no doubt thanks to donations from benefactors on the occasion of the coronation.

But the market value of these pieces must not be very high, on the other hand, the crowns offered by the parishioners to the Virgin and her divine Son, through this coronation, represent all the piety of a people that has been despised and trampled on by thieves.