Priest Sets Up Camera to Catch Offering Thief, But What He Discovers Leaves Him Stunned
Frank Albert was the devoted priest of St. Thomas Parish, dedicated to guiding his congregation and ensuring everything was handled properly.
However, trouble began when the church’s offerings mysteriously disappeared. Determined to uncover the truth, Frank embarked on an investigation that would reveal a shocking discovery.
Frank Albert was never the most beloved priest. Since his transfer to St. Thomas Parish, he could count on one hand the number of times he had been invited to a parishioner’s home. He wasn’t the kind of priest who drew crowds or had children eagerly seeking a quick blessing. While everyone showed him the respect due to a priest, they kept their distance and avoided becoming too familiar.
The reason was clear: Frank Albert simply wasn’t a people person. He didn’t intentionally push people away or act in ways that created barriers—it was more about the intangible aura he carried. There was something about him that made others feel uneasy in his presence. It was a subtle but unmistakable discomfort that led many parishioners to maintain a polite but cautious distance.
Despite this, Frank Albert managed to run the parish properly. He was frugal with the church’s expenses and made sure everything was in top shape all the time. When he said Mass, he never kept it too long, and that was something the people liked about him. The previous priest always finished Mass late, but with Frank Albert, it was rare for Mass to last more than two hours. Everything was going well in the church; the people and priest found a way to coexist. But then something happened that threatened to tear the parish apart.
One morning, while checking the donations from the previous day, Frank Albert noticed something disturbing: the offering basket was empty. All of the money that was donated on Sunday was gone. Frank Albert was distraught. The money was important for running the affairs of the parish, and its sudden disappearance would take a toll on its finances. Stealing from the church was akin to stealing from God, so who would dare to do such a thing?
The priest kept quiet about the situation. He chose not to tell the elders to avoid alarming them, and he didn’t inform the police because he didn’t want the matter to get out of hand or create a bad name for the church. Meanwhile, he made up for the stolen money with his own funds. But over the week, he decided to launch his own investigation to see if he could identify the thief.
During morning masses on weekdays, Frank Albert centered his sermons on stealing and taking things from the house of God. While preaching, he tried to study the reactions of his parishioners, hoping someone would give themselves away with their countenance. Unfortunately, this approach didn’t work.
Another Sunday came, and by Monday morning, the offering was gone again. When Frank Albert noticed this, he was at his wit’s end. He still had no clue who the thief was and remained reluctant to inform the elders of the church. Instead, he imposed strict measures on the parishioners. Henceforth, the offering would be kept in a safe, and no one except a select few would have access to it. In this way, if the money went missing again, he would know who to hold responsible.
But that week, the problem wasn’t just the missing offering—other strange things began to happen as well, and Frank Albert had no explanation for them. Later that week, on Wednesday, Frank Albert woke up with an injury on his big toe. It looked like he had hit it against something, but that was impossible because the night before, his toe was perfectly fine. So how did it happen?
Despite the injured toe, he didn’t let it stop him from carrying out the day’s activities. He prepared to say the morning Mass, but he couldn’t wear his shoes or sandals because of the injury, so he made do with his slippers. The church members were shocked when they saw their parish priest in slippers. He also looked haggard and unkempt, but they said nothing about it. However, over the next few days, the number of parishioners attending morning Mass dropped drastically.
The next Sunday, Frank Albert woke up with a severe headache, and his vision was blurry. He felt tired and weighed down, but as always, he pushed through it all and prepared for Mass. However, during the Mass, he suddenly had a strong urge to sleep.
It got so bad that while giving communion, he dozed off for a few seconds, and the host fell out of his hands. Thankfully, the altar boy beside him quickly caught it in the communion plate. This didn’t just happen once—it happened three different times.
By now, people were beginning to notice the priest’s strange behavior, but none of them could confront him. They decided to tell the elders, who then chose to talk to him after Mass. The last thing the elders wanted was for people to lose faith in their priest. Just as Frank Albert was about to dismiss the Mass, something quite terrifying happened. The door suddenly flew open, and a haggard-looking man ran in. His hair was unkempt, and his clothes were dirty. The church wardens ran after him and began to pull him out, but he started screaming,
“We’re all going to die! We’re stealing from God! We’re going to die! I have seen this in my dream!”
The parishioners were so frightened that many of them began to whisper terrible things among themselves.
“Do we have a thief in the house of God? Who is the thief?” they said, looking around at one another with suspicion.
At that moment, Frank Albert decided to tell them about the stolen offerings. He took his time apologizing for not informing them sooner and assured them that he was doing all he could to find the thief and put an end to the sacrilege.
However, as he spoke, he noticed that the church members were not looking at him. Instead, they were staring at the man sitting in the far corner of the church, regarding him with suspicion. This was because the man was an ex-convict who had been arrested for armed robbery and had only recently been released. Frank Albert asked them not to judge or suspect anyone yet and promised to get to the root of the matter.
After the Mass, the priest had a meeting with the elders, and they suggested that he place cameras in the room where the offerings were kept and in the parish shops. That evening, they bought the cameras and installed them. As usual, by Monday morning, the offering was gone. But Frank Albert was not worried—he knew the camera would finally reveal the thief.
That night, he connected the camera to his computer and clicked on the video from the previous night. He was relieved that he could finally catch the thief. But what he saw made his blood run cold. As soon as the video began to play, Frank Albert couldn’t believe his eyes. He saw himself unlock the safe room, walk in, and pick up the offering. Then, he came out of the room and locked it. Seeing all this, he fell back in shock. He was the thief.
He placed his hands over his mouth and tried to suppress a scream. How could he not remember stealing the money? As he continued watching, he saw that he took the money to his room. He searched his closet and then under his bed, and there it was—every single offering that had been stolen was under the bed.
“My God,” he gasped. “What have I done?” he cried loudly.
Although hurt by his own actions, he was quite surprised because he had no memory of stealing the church’s offerings.
“Oh God, please come to my rescue. Save me, Lord. When did I steal from the church?” he wept loudly as he watched the video.
Just then, a realization hit him. Frank Albert had been a sleepwalker in his youth. His family used to recount his nocturnal escapades, like the time he wandered outside, opened the front door, and slept in the yard. By the time he turned 16, the sleepwalking episodes had ceased, leading him to believe they were a thing of the past. However, he now understood that the sleepwalking had returned. Each instance of him rising from bed to pilfer the church’s offerings was a result of this condition. This also explained his memory lapses and the recent injury to his toe.
The following day, Frank sought medical advice. His doctor prescribed medication to help regulate his sleep. The day after, Frank wrote a letter to his bishop requesting a leave of absence to address his condition. When Sunday arrived, he candidly shared his struggle with the congregation, admitting his role in the missing money and apologizing for his actions. His honesty resonated deeply with the parishioners, fostering a greater sense of empathy and solidarity. They offered him their support and eagerly anticipated his return once his leave was concluded.
