The parish church in the centre of Armação de Pêra was broken in to and burgled in the early hours of this morning.
The thief, or more likely thieves, appear to ahve taken whatever they could get their hands on, stealing money and other valuables.
Probably in an attempt to hide their tracks they then set fire to the vestry which has been almost totally destroyed.
By the time the local firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire had taken hold and much of the church interior has been damaged.
The Judicial Police is investigating the case but early indications are that the arsonists got in and out of the building unobserved due to the early hour, despite the location being a busy one.
