Landes. Desecrations, thefts of hosts or ciboria, forced tabernacles...: at least 22 churches in the department targeted in a few weeks

Unexplained desecrations and thefts of objects with no commercial value, such as hosts or ciboria, have been reported in recent weeks in around twenty churches in the Landes region. Other incidents of this type have been reported in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, such as in the church of Sauveterre-de-Béarn and in several places of worship in the Basque Country. Numerous complaints have been filed.

Thefts and desecrations have increased in recent weeks in churches in the Landes region, ICI Gascogne learned this Thursday, August 28. At least 22 churches (list below) have been affected since May, according to the diocese of Aire and Dax, which covers the Landes department. In some cases, the damage involved damage, with hosts and liturgical materials thrown to the ground. But in many churches, thefts were observed: the perpetrators sometimes took only the hosts in the church, sometimes also the ciboria (the vessels in which the hosts are placed). In some cases, the tabernacles were damaged: these are, in churches, the furniture in which the ciborium and hosts are kept.

It appears, according to initial evidence, that there is no profit motive in these thefts. The hosts have no market value, just like the ciboria, which are not made of precious metals. A consecrated host, however, has an important symbolic value: for believers, it represents the body of Christ. The perpetrator(s) have not been arrested at this stage, so their motivation is unknown. Is this an attempt to attack the Catholic Church by defacing its symbols? Are these thefts linked to occult practices such as Satanism? […]

France Bleu

(see the non-exhaustive list of damage in 22 churches)