Nun chases, confronts woman who stole from a purse in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Inside the Sacred Heart of Jesus Store on Liberty Avenue, a hand-painted sign reads: "Be kind and then repent."

It’s a motto Sister Mary Madalyn lives by, especially when confronted with an alleged thief.

“Every now and again, you do get someone who is not honest,” Sister Mary said. “But God knows who they are.”

According to Sister Mary, around 4 p.m. Monday, a woman entered the store and signed the guest prayer book, something all visitors are asked to do.

After browsing, a second woman arrived and placed her purse behind the counter before walking through the store.

That’s when another employee noticed something strange.

“This first lady, she, unknowingly to us, had taken the other lady’s purse,” she said.

A fellow nun discovered the purse unzipped on the floor.

She said the woman allegedly stole credit cards and walked out of the store.

“I just ran down the street after her,” she said. “I called her by name, because her name is in the book.”

She caught up to the woman near the Tobacco Outlet on Liberty Avenue.

“I caught up to her and, of course, she went into denial, ‘not me, I didn’t do anything,’” Sister Mary recalled.

Eventually, the woman returned the stolen credit cards, she said.

This isn’t the first time Sister Mary has confronted danger.

In 2006, she says, she chased down an armed robber who had held her at gunpoint.

But even after decades of service and close calls, Sister Mary’s faith and spirits remain the same.

“We are all called to help each other,” she said. “I might be old, but I can still move a little.”

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