$42,000 found stuffed in priest’s confessional

The huge sum of money had been left by an anonymous benefactor in the confessional of a church in Rome.

When the stash was first discovered inside two plastic bags by a caretaker in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci, there were concerns that someone may have planted a bomb.

When authorities opened the bags however they found, not explosives, but huge piles of cash.

Consisting of 50-euro notes, the huge sum was wedged beneath a cushion in the priest’s side of the confessional. The hunt is now on to determine who left the money there and why.

“At the moment we are not excluding any theory,” said Carabinieri officer Lieutenant Salvatore Friano.

“We’re trying to ascertain whether this was a benefactor who wanted to donate the money to the church, or someone who simply wanted to get rid of dirty money. Perhaps it was their way of paying their dues, both with the law and their own conscience.”

“We can’t exclude the fact that this money was acquired illegally, perhaps from a recent robbery.”