NEW YORK – New York police are searching for a man accused of stealing a gold-plated rose from a Manhattan church memorial honoring the victims of 9/11.

The metal flower served as the centerpiece of a memorial at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, whose longtime pastor, Father Mychal Judgewas crushed by falling debris while praying for victims and rescuers on the morning of the attack.

On Wednesday afternoon, a man entered the historic Midtown church and removed the rose from the base of the memorial, according to a police spokesman. Surveillance photos show the suspect holding the tall, narrow artwork on a sidewalk outside the church. He remained at large Thursday and was wanted for theft, police said.

Father Brian Jordan, who leads the Franciscan church, said the man in the photos had previously been removed from the building for “bizarre behaviour”.

“We are saddened and saddened by this act of desecration,” he added. “Hopefully this troubled man will return to the police and they will in turn refer him to the nearest psychiatric facility so that the healing process can begin.”

The memorial, which rests on a base of twisted steel left over from the wreckage of the World Trade Center, came to the church 22 years ago, he said, through a donation coordinated by a local blacksmiths union.

It was dedicated to the former pastor, Judge, as well as a parishioner, Carole LaPlante, who was also killed in the attacks.

Judge, a New York City Fire Department chaplain who founded one of the first Catholic ministries dedicated to those with HIV/AIDS, had been praying in the north tower lobby for rescuers and victims when he was killed by debris from the falling south tower .

After his death, admirers of the priest urged the Catholic Church to grant him sainthood, highlighting his efforts to push the church to be more welcoming to LGBTQ people.