MORRISANIA — Call it divine intervention.
The pastor of St. Anselm's Church recovered a five-foot cross stolen from the nearby St. Anthony of Padua Church after seeing a man trotting down the street with it.
Rev. Antonio Palacios was near 153rd Street and Jackson Avenue when he noticed a man running through the streets with the crucifix at about 8 p.m. on Thursday, police said.
The reverend said he found that surprising and started wondering if the man was in a hurry to make it to a procession.
"Maybe he’s late, and he’s running because of that," Palacios said he thought. "But the reality was it was stolen."
Palacios then flagged down a squad car and took the cross from the man, police said.
After reading press reports that it had been stolen, Palacios reached out to the bishop to make plans to return it, he and police said.
"We talked with the bishop, and he was really happy to know that it was in our hands," Palacios said.
The five-foot cross was nabbed from the lobby at St. Anthony's, located at 832 East 166th St. in the 42nd Precinct, between 6 and 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday while services were going on, police said.
The person who Palacios spotted with the cross was not arrested because he said he had found it, according to the NYPD.