Monstrance stolen and cross destroyed in break-in at parish church of Sant'Alessandro, Traona

At about 3 a.m. on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, the alarm sounded at the 17th-century parish church of Sant'Alessandro in the upper part of Traona, Sondrio. Thieves had forced the old wooden side door with tools, ransacked the sacristy, and stole sacred vessels including a monstrance, probably several chalices and ciboria, and the coins from the offering boxes. Inside the church they broke the tabernacle key, without taking the consecrated hosts, and destroyed a cross. The Carabinieri carried out forensic checks; Mayor Maurizio Papini called the raid a vile and contemptible act against a symbol of the community's faith.

Sacrilegious theft with damage inside the church, mapped to incidentType vandalism. Parish priest don Paolo Bettonagli was away at the time. Radio TSN links it in style to the 5–6 October theft of crowns at the Santuario di Nostra Signora di Loreto in Tresivio. Coordinates are the Nominatim place_of_worship pin for the Chiesa parrocchiale di Sant'Alessandro. Also reported by Radio TSN (https://radiotsn.tv/ultime-news/2026/10/15/traona-ladri-in-azione-in-chiesa-sul-posto-i-carabinieri/).