Unknown individuals desecrated the tabernacle of the parish church of the Sacred Heart of Mary in Guitiriz, Lugo last Saturday, scattering the consecrated hosts across the town square after stealing the silver ciborium that contained them. The Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol has condemned the incident as a “grave act” and a “direct affront to the Eucharist, the center of the Church’s faith and life”.
According to the diocese’s official statement released on Monday, the events took place on Saturday the 19th at midday. The perpetrators tore the tabernacle from its place, forced the lock, and opened it to remove the ciborium. The consecrated hosts were then scattered in the town square and the silver vessel was stolen. The diocesan statement can be read in full here.
The diocese denounces a “grave offense to the Lord in the Sacrament”
The Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol has expressed its “strongest condemnation” of a desecration that, it says, “deeply wounds the religious sentiments of Catholics and the entire parish community of Guitiriz”.
The diocese also stressed that the incident violates the right to religious freedom and recalled the specific gravity the act holds for the Catholic faith.
“According to Catholic doctrine, this act constitutes a grave offense to the Lord in the Sacrament, truly present in the Eucharist, and affects the faith of the people of God,” the statement reads.
For the Catholic Church, the consecrated Eucharistic species are not merely a religious symbol. According to the doctrine of the real presence, after consecration Christ is truly, really, and substantially present under the species of bread and wine. Hence the deliberate desecration of the consecrated hosts carries a singular gravity.
The Civil Guard is investigating the incident
The desecration and theft were reported to the authorities, and an investigation has been opened to identify those responsible. As of Wednesday, September 23, no public identification of the perpetrators has been released.
The Civil Guard is investigating the incident and attempting to locate those who entered the church and stole the ciborium, according to local press reports.
The bishop will preside over a Mass of reparation
In response to the desecration, the bishop of Mondoñedo-Ferrol, Fernando García Cadiñanos, has called on the faithful to attend a Eucharistic Mass of reparation.
The celebration will take place next Tuesday, September 29 at 8:00 p.m. in the church of the Sacred Heart of Mary in Guitiriz and will be presided over by the bishop himself. The invitation calls on the faithful to accompany “Jesus in the Sacrament in reparation for the outrage” and includes Christ’s words from the cross: “Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.”
The diocese has invited both the Christian community of Guitiriz and anyone who wishes to join in prayer and acts of reparation.