The thief who snuck into the church of San Gioacchino, in the Prati district of Rome, had not calculated that in the parish there was a priest-runner ready to grind kilometers to recover the stolen goods and bring him to justice. Father Peter Ngueyen is the young Vietnamese priest who last night blocked a man who entered the church “who turned out to be a serial thief”, he explains to Adnkronos. At a certain point Father Peter realizes that a man, having entered the church, “remains for a long time rummaging in the drawers of the sacristy. At which point I ask him to stop and ask him if he was there to steal”. The man escapes after tugging on Father Peter who engages in a race to block him. “Some time ago – Father Peter remembers – a faithful woman was robbed of her purse. I left the confessional but the cassock prevented me from reaching the thief.” as fast as the runner priest. “In the meantime, the deacon called the carabinieri – explains Father Peter – who quickly arrived and found small parish objects in the man’s pockets. My duties also include protecting the faithful who enter the church”.