An Auckland monastery is locking its chapel doors after religious statues were stolen during a second robbery in just four months.
After a large statue of Jesus and a smaller Infant of Prague statue were taken from the Carmelite Monastery in November, statues of the Archangel Michael and Virgin Mary were stolen over the weekend.
CCTV footage shows a man brazenly walking into the chapel in the middle of the day, heading straight to a display cabinet and taking two religious statues.
Sister Johanna Penn told 1 NEWS it's been a scary ordeal.
"I think he knew what to do and what to look for," she says.
It wasn't his only visit - the man was seen coming back around 15 minutes later with a dark bandanna covering the lower half of his face.
"He came in to go and get some more, but a sister was outside… so he got startled and knew he couldn't take anything," Ms Penn says.
"He came up and said hello to our sister, shook her hand, and then he went into the chapel."
There was another sister in the chapel but when she left, the man was filmed raiding the pews, taking the congregation's Lenten Giving envelopes.
He was also captured returning late at night, in an apparent attempt to break in which left a side door smashed and broken.
For their own safety and to keep their religious artifacts safe, the nuns are now locking the chapel door during the day with a helper standing guard for security.
It's something they resisted after last year's theft , preferring to keep it open so people could still find sanctuary and worship.
American and British publications are chasing the story of Sister Johanna Penn who turned amateur sleuth to recover two stolen statues.
"We just have to be practical and for our own welfare, which is most important," Ms Penn says.
"The last we want is for a statue to be stolen again, we don't want to take that risk.
"If anyone's genuinely wanting to pray, we open the door for them so they understand too, which is good."
There is a spark of hope - the statues were returned by another man yesterday, who says he found them in the boarding house down the road.
"He was cleaning out a guy's room… It looks like he left in a hurry and left everything behind," Ms Penn says.
Police confirmed they're investigating the burglary and told 1 NEWS they're "following lines of inquiry".
Detective Senior Sergeant Kathy Bostock says she's not aware of any similar crimes at other churches in the area recently, but encourages anyone who's in a situation where they feel unsafe to call 111.
In the meantime, Ms Penn says they're just taking each day as it comes and are hoping for the best.
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