‘I was terrified’ California bishop is robbed at gunpoint while praying, he says

A California bishop said he was robbed at gunpoint over the weekend when he was taking a walk while praying.

Bishop Michael Barber of the Oakland Diocese told his congregation that he was taking a walk Saturday afternoon and praying when he was robbed near the Paramount Theatre Saturday afternoon.

“Yesterday, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon I was taking a walk on our neighborhood — I go out and walk in the afternoon and say the rosary. A man pulled a gun on me, pointed it at me and said ‘Give me your wallet,” Barber said during Sunday mass at the Cathedral of Christ the Light.

“I was terrified. I was afraid. ‘Maybe this it,’ I said … ‘I’m sorry for my sins Lord,’” he told his congregants. “I took out my wallet and I was shaking and he said ‘Give me the cash, give me the cash.’ I gave him the money and then he saw my bishop’s ring. He said ‘Give me that ring.’”

“I was afraid. I’d rather have my life, so I gave him the ring — the ring with which I was consecrated by the archbishop when I was made a bishop. The ring that means I’m married to the Diocese of Oakland. It’s as precious to me as your wedding ring is to you.”

Barber said the man sped away on a bike after the robbery.

The Oakland Police Department confirmed to McClatchy News that it was “actively investigating” the incident as an armed robbery. Oakland has reportedly seen a 50% uptick in armed robberies in 2021 compared to 2020, authorities said.

“The Department encourages our community, ‘if you see something, say something,’” police said.

Barber had announced a vigil and a “prayer to end gun violence” earlier in May before he was robbed.