Desecration of Consecrated Hosts in a Church in Palermo

Case information
Incident date
Country
Italy
Place
Palermo
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Satanist Symbols
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Desecration
  • Theft
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Vandalism of Church
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Other (text field)
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Comments/Written Statements/Gestures/Graffiti
  • Lack of Other Motive
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Image credit: lalucedimaria.it

On November 25th, a desecration of consecrated hosts took place in a parish in St. Bagheria. The parish priest found the tabernacle broken open and consecrated hosts spread on the ground. The investigations of the Forces of Order are still in progress, in search of those who desecrated the Tabernacle and the hosts, above all to find out more about the motivation and possible bias behind this act. There is a fear that the consecrated hosts, the flesh of Christ for Catholics, is used for Satanic rituals during black masses. This already happened in the past in Sicily.

"With deep sadness and a heart full of pain, I must inform you that tonight, in our parish church, a sacrilegious act was carried out, along with the theft: some consecrated species were thrown to the ground and others were stolen" - to write this message full of pain but, at the same time, of fear, is Don Filippo, pastor of the Parish of the Holy Sepulchre of Bagheria, in the province of Palermo

Sources