Gun-toting robbers in Brazil made a priest swear on the Bible that he had handed over all the loot during a monastery raid.

And then they asked for his forgiveness.

The 15 hooded men who stole around $6,200 (?3,400) from the secluded Catholic monastery near the town of Guaratingueta in Sao Paulo.

But at the last minute they let their consciences get the better of them.

"They were asking the priests to forgive them during the robbery, saying they were only doing it because they needed the money," said police investigator Flavio Andre Averaldo.

"And before leaving they made one priest swear on the Holy Bible that there was nothing left."

The money had been meant to pay the Bethlehem Monastery's expenses.