Rev. Patrick Breen at Landakotskirkja church in Reykjavík was surprised when he was informed on Thursday that a more than one-meter long iguana had been found inside the church. Rev. Breen said God-fearing lizards are rare and so he called the police.

Landakotskirkja.

“Someone has taken advantage of the church being open and gotten rid of it this way,” Rev. Breen told Fréttabladid. “The weather was poor and the owner probably didn’t want to abandon it outside.”

Exterminator Ómar F. Dabney at Reykjavík City answered the police’s call and picked the iguana up. “It is among the larger lizards I have seen and I’ve seen a lot of them. They are popular pets although it is illegal to keep them in Iceland.”

“I understand that the police often find animals like these during raids and such. I’ve stopped being hesitant about handling snakes, lizards or large spiders anymore,” Dabney added.

The iguana was taken to Keldur, the University of Iceland’s Institute for Experimental Pathology, where it will meet its destiny.