An unknown perpetrator broke into the chapel of Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital in Urbino, and stole a monstrance containing consecrated hosts. The tabernacle was forced open, and some of the consecrated hosts were reportedly scattered on the floor. The Archbishop of Urbino-Urbania-Sant’Angelo in Vado condemned the incident as a sacrilegious act and desecration, and called for prayers of reparation for the attack on the Eucharist, the centre of Catholic life and faith.
The theft occurred during the night of 1 October 2026. The perpetrator forced open the tabernacle and removed the monstrance containing the large consecrated host. Other consecrated hosts were reportedly thrown onto the floor. The damage was discovered by people entering the chapel the following morning and was reported to the diocese.
Archbishop Sandro Salvucci declared the incident as more than an ordinary theft, but a "sacrilegious act." He further stated that it "offends the Lord present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist and profoundly wounds the faith of the Christian people." The incident was even more grave, he stated, since this chapel is a place where the ill and their families "find consolation, silence, prayer, and hope."
Mons. Salvucci has called for prayers of reparation during Masses throughout the diocese on 4 October, and encouraged Eucharistic adoration during the following week in every community.
Sources: agensir, corriereadriatico
Image: Wiki Commons
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