Burglar punches priest in the face, steals his credit cards. Priest forgives him.

A burglary suspect reportedly punched a Chicago-area priest in the face on Friday night.

The priest, however, had only a message of forgiveness and grace for the suspect, who has yet to be apprehended at the time of this writing.

What are the details?

WBBM-TV reported that the priest, Father Matthew Compton, was working late at the church Friday night when he encountered an intruder in the St. Thomas More Catholic Church.

According to police, the unnamed male suspect had entered the church to reportedly steal a computer, printer, and TV. The suspect reportedly entered the church through a window after he pushed an air conditioner out of place.

Compton told WBBM that he ran into the intruder on the church's upper level, where he confronted him.

“I asked ‘Who are you, and what are you doing here,’ and that’s when he punched me in the side of the head and scraped downward to here,” Compton said, gesturing to the side of his face.

“Despite this, I forgive him," Compton added. "He’ll hopefully have a long life in front of him and will use it for good. He’s a son of God, and God wants good for him — I hope he realizes that.”

Anything else?

According to the station, the suspect also made off with Compton's wallet and used the priest's credit cards within just one hour of the alleged break-in.

WBBM reported that while the attack itself was not caught on camera, church surveillance footage caught the moment the priest attempted to prevent the suspect from leaving the church.

Police ask that anyone who recognizes the suspect to contact detectives at 312-747-8730 or send a tip to cpdtip.com.

Police also issued a warning against approaching the suspect, should they see him in public.

You can see surveillance video from the incident in the video below: