By FRANCIS JOSEPH
A thief got the shock of his life when in attempting to steal the tabernacle from the church, was confronted by the parish priest, Father Emmanuel Pierre.
The break-in occurred during the early hours of Tuesday at the St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, George Cabral Street, St James.
Fr Pierre, an attorney, said he usually opens the church around after 5 a.m. in preparation for the 6.15 a.m. mass. He told the Catholic News that the intruder gained entry by prising open a side door located on the compound of the St James Medical Complex.
He added, “As a matter of fact, I met them in the church, you know…about quarter past five. As I entered the sacristy, I saw a door open, and I knew something was amiss. A table behind the door, the sacristy was ransacked…two monstrances had disappeared.”
Fr Pierre said he turned on the lights and saw someone in a white overall walking back into the sacristy. He related, “So I shouted loudly, ‘I caught you!’ and he sped quickly to the door to escape”. The intruder escaped via the side door into a waiting vehicle on the hospital compound.
“They tried to move the tabernacle, but they couldn’t…they didn’t have time to take it because I met them.” The tabernacle was left on the ground inside the church. Police were contacted and arrived shortly after to collect evidence. The 6.15 a.m. Mass was cancelled as the church was a crime scene.
Asked whether he feared for his safety, Fr Pierre said, “I was surprised but fear didn’t come into me…there was no fear.”
Commenting on how common place crime is in the society, Fr Pierre said it was only a matter of time before someone is impacted. “We’re in a crime-ridden environment so no one is immune. One has to prepare for when it happens as best as one can.” Father Pierre said he intends to contact hospital officials, as the perpetrator accessed the church from the hospital compound.
The Monstrance is a sacred, ornamental vessel used in Catholic, Anglican, and Old Catholic traditions to display the consecrated Eucharistic host. It is typically made of precious metals (like gold or silver), often shaped like a sunburst, and features a glass-enclosed center (called a luna) where the host is placed.
One resident reported seeing “strange fellas” fleeing towards the Bournes Road area in St James early on Monday morning.
When word spread throughout the Catholic Community, parishioners were left shock at what had happened. One parishioner told Sunshine Today that crime had hit what he called “the safest place in St James.”
