The metal flower served as the centerpiece of a memorial at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, whose longtime pastor, Father Mychal Judge, was crushed by the rubble as he prayed for victims and saviors on the morning of the attack.
On Wednesday afternoon local time, a man entered the historic Midtown church and removed a rose from the base of the monument, according to a police spokesman.
Surveillance camera photos show the suspect holding a tall and narrow piece of art on the sidewalk in front of the church.
He remains at large and is wanted for grand larceny, police said.
Father Brian Jordan, who runs the Franciscan church, said the man in the photos had already been removed from the building because of his “bizarre behaviour”.
“We are saddened and saddened by this act of desecration,” he added.
“We hope that this troubled man will turn himself in to the police and that they will in turn send him to the nearest psychiatric facility so that the healing process can begin.”
The monument, which rests on a base of twisted steel left over from the wreckage of the World Trade Center, arrived at the church 22 years ago, he said, through a donation coordinated by the local ironworkers union.
It is dedicated to former pastor Judge, as well as 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 services dedicated to people with HIV/AIDS, was praying in the lobby of the north tower for rescuers and victims when he was killed by debris from the falling south tower.
After his death, the priest’s admirers called on the Catholic Church to canonize him, pointing to his efforts to encourage the church to be more welcoming to LGBTQ people.