Icons Stolen From Church in Philippines

Thieves broke into an old Roman Catholic church museum and stole two 16th-Century icons left behind by Spanish colonizers, church officials said Monday.

The stolen ivory crucifix and ivory head of the Virgin Mary could be worth $360,000 each, Deputy Bishop Cirilo Darunday of the central city of Tagbilaran said.

He said the icons, kept in a church museum near Tagbilaran, were believed stolen last week by two men who came through the ceiling.

Church officials said the statue of Mary, venerated by Filipinos in this largely Catholic country, was a gift from 16th-Century Spanish Queen Catherine of Aragon.