The parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, in Parla (Madrid), will hold a vigil of eucharistic adoration tonight, from Friday, October 30 to Saturday, October 31, in reparation for the theft of the tabernacle that contained about thirty consecrated hosts. Under the motto “A Night of Love for Jesus,” the faithful will gather before the Blessed Sacrament to make reparation for the offense committed against the Eucharist and to pray for the recovery of the stolen hosts.
The call, issued by the Diocese of Getafe, will begin at midnight and continue until eight in the morning on Saturday, coinciding with the hours leading up to the celebration of Halloween.
The parish community wishes to respond with prayer and adoration to the sacrilege suffered on October 21, when unknown persons stole the tabernacle from the chapel of the parish center while children’s catechesis sessions were taking place.
“A Night of Love for Jesus”: eight hours of eucharistic reparation
The vigil will be held under the motto “A Night of Love for Jesus” and is open to all the faithful who wish to accompany the parish community.
For eight hours, participants will adore the Blessed Sacrament with the intention of “making reparation for the offenses our Lord receives and consoling His Sacred Heart,” according to the announcement issued by the diocese.
The initiative also invites prayer for the recovery of the consecrated hosts and for the conversion of those who committed the theft.
The day of reparation is framed by words of Saint Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb, recorded in the Gospel of Saint John: “They have taken my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him” (Jn 20:13).
The gathering expresses the parish community’s concern for the whereabouts of the Blessed Sacrament, which remains unrecovered according to publicly available information.
For the Catholic Church, the gravity of what occurred does not lie solely in the theft of a sacred object, but especially in the disappearance of the consecrated hosts, in which the real presence of Jesus Christ is recognized.
The theft of the tabernacle during children’s catechesis
The vigil responds to the events of Wednesday, October 21, when unknown persons stole the tabernacle from the chapel of the parish center of Our Lady of the Assumption in Parla.
Inside was a ciborium containing approximately thirty consecrated hosts, as well as a larger host intended for the Nocturnal Adoration that the parish usually celebrates on the third Friday of each month.
The theft occurred between two shifts of children’s catechesis, when several people were present in the parish facilities, including catechists, mothers of the children, and the parochial vicar, Andrés Klonowski.
No one noticed the theft. It was only when the second group of children arrived at the chapel to pray that it was discovered the tabernacle had disappeared.
The pastor, Orlando Mateos, immediately searched the nearby dumpsters and vacant lots around the parish center, in case the perpetrators had abandoned the tabernacle there after stealing it.
“I checked all the trash bins to see if they had left it somewhere, or the empty lots—there are many vacant lots here in the old part of Parla—but we found nothing,” the priest explained after learning what had happened.
The parish filed a report with the National Police, who took charge of the investigation.
Concern over possible sacrilegious use of the consecrated hosts
The proximity of Halloween has heightened concern over the fate of the consecrated hosts.
After the theft became known, the pastor did not rule out a possible connection to satanic practices, although he acknowledged there was no evidence to confirm that hypothesis.
The theft occurred ten days before Halloween, a circumstance that led the priest to express his concern over the possibility that the hosts might be used in sacrilegious acts.
The Observatory for Religious Freedom and Conscience also expressed its concern and urged that the incident not be treated as a simple theft, recalling the special gravity that the profanation of the Blessed Sacrament holds for Catholics.
According to data released by this organization, the Parla case constitutes the seventh episode of tabernacle profanation recorded in Spain during 2026.
To date, the motive of the perpetrators and the whereabouts of the eucharistic species have not been publicly confirmed.
Reparation for offenses against the Eucharist
Reparative adoration holds an important place in the spiritual tradition of the Church. Through prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, the faithful express their love for Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist and offer acts of atonement for the offenses committed against Him.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that in the Blessed Sacrament are contained truly, really, and substantially the Body and Blood of Christ, together with His soul and divinity.
For this reason, the Church considers acts of profanation of the consecrated species to be especially grave.
Canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law establishes latae sententiae excommunication, reserved to the Apostolic See, for anyone who throws the consecrated species on the ground or steals or retains them for a sacrilegious purpose.
The application of this provision requires determining the specific circumstances of the act, including its purpose, which in the Parla case remains under investigation.
A night of adoration on the eve of All Saints
The vigil will take place during the early hours of Saturday, October 31, the eve of the Solemnity of All Saints, which the Church will celebrate on Sunday, November 1.
While the police investigation continues to locate the tabernacle and the consecrated hosts, the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption has called the faithful to a night of prayer, reparation, and eucharistic adoration.
The celebration will begin at 00:00 on Saturday, October 31, and will conclude at 8:00 a.m., after eight hours of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.