Robbery and Desecration in Charente Church

Case information
Incident date
Country
France
Place
Confolens
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Desecration
  • Theft
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated

Sometime in the morning of March 8th, between the opening of the church at 8:55 and the first Mass at 9:55, the ciborium containing consecrated hosts and a chalice were stolen from the sacristy cupboard in the church of Saint-Barthélémy in Confolens, Charente. This was the eighth church in the Charente region hit by theft and vandalism since last February.

Police had warned churches a few days earlier to stay vigilant due to a series of thefts of liturgical objects in the Vienne and Charente-Maritime

Sources: L'Observatoire de la Christianophobie and Charente Libre

Sources