Thieves have stolen a heavy steel collection box which had been placed in a crib in a Co Mayo church over Christmas and the New Year to raise money for the African missions.
It is estimated that the metal container, which was stolen from St Tiernan's Church, Crossmolina, between 2pm and 6pm on Friday last, contained between €600 and €700.
Parish clergy have issued an appeal for the return of the money, which would have been divided between two parishes in Africa where Holy Ghost missionaries Fr John Gallagher and Fr Enda Kelly are ministering.
Children had been flocking to place donations over Christmas in the specially strengthened container which, according to local curate Fr Michael Reilly, was so heavy it would have taken two people to carry it.
"The people of the parish are very upset over what is a mean crime," Fr Reilly said last night.
"We are still hoping for some kind of miracle that whoever stole the box might realise even at this stage the utter meanness of their act and return the money."
Gardaí are studying video footage of the church taken on Friday in the hope they might be able to identify the culprits.
Landowners in the area are being asked to check in case the box was dumped on their property after it was forced open.
If the box had not been interfered with, it is estimated that the crib collection would have reached about €1,200 by now.