Church officials in India fear the Eucharist was desecrated after a tabernacle was stolen from a Catholic school in the Indian city of Nagpur the night of January 14.
CCTV cameras caught masked men entering the St. Claret School building around midnight and entering the principal's office, reported Catholic news website UCA News. The thieves stole about Rs 30,000 (or about $330 in U.S. dollars), but did not take a laptop that was sitting on a desk.
Moving into a "prayer hall" next to the principal's office, the thieves then took the tabernacle, which is gold-plated. The Eucharist was not found on the scene and is believed to have been taken with the tabernacle.
“Despite lodging a police complaint, the blessed species have not yet been recovered, and their present condition and whereabouts remain unknown,” Archbishop Elias Gonsalves of Nagpur said in a pastoral letter to the archdiocese.
While there was no evidence of a desecrated Eucharist found at the school, "the unlawful removal of the Most Holy Eucharist constitutes a grave offense and gives rise to a danger of sacrilege," Gonsalves said.
“As your shepherd, I feel compelled to invite the entire Archdiocese to unite in prayer, penance, and reparation, entrusting this painful situation to the mercy of God,” he said.
Gonsalves requested that January 23 be a "Day of Penance and Reparation" for the archdiocese, and asked that "an hour of Eucharistic Adoration be observed in all Churches and religious houses" within the archdiocese.
“Let us unite in fervent prayer, seeking God’s mercy and making amends for this grievous offence against the Holy Eucharist.”
Police have not determined a motive for the incident.
Nagpur is located in central India and is in the state of Maharashtra. Nearly four million people live in Nagpur, and just over 1% of the population is Christian. The area is majority Hindu, with a substantial Buddhist minority.
