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GUATEMALA
Loss of religious artThieves stealing cultural heritage
Guatemala’s archeological community has warned that thieves are stripping the Central American country of its heritage of historic Catholic artifacts.
“The trade in Catholic treasures has become a profitable business,” Maria Eugenia Gordillo, spokesman for the Institute of Anthropology and History (IDAEH), told Reuters news agency. She said more than 100 statues of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and saints have been stolen from Guatemalan churches since 1998.
The country is well-known as having the fourth largest collection of ancient Catholic religious art in Latin America, after Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia, which have also suffered from the depredations.
“People have begun stealing everything from the small village churches where some real treasures are stored,” said Gordillo. During the last three years thieves have also made off with silver chalices, crucifixes, and in one case an entire wooden door bearing an ancient illustration. Many of the items end up with foreign collectors.
Back to Catholic World Report August/September 2000 Table of Contents