Fourth Act of Vandalism this year in Notre-Dame church in Livry-Gargan
During the night of 5-6 May, the tabernacle in the church of Notre-Dame de Livry-Gargan (Seine-Saint-Denis) was torn from its place and stolen.
Father Joseph Zhao, a parish priest, discovered the tabernacle was missing when he opened the church at 8am on Monday morning. The city police, who were immediately alerted, went to the scene and found the tabernacle abandoned on a city sidewalk.
"The Blessed Sacrament is unharmed, thank God", said Father Zhao. "For me, it's a miracle. We couldn't have imagined anything worse - these hosts are the body of Christ", he recalls. The tabernacle was apparently too heavy to be taken away. "It weighs 250 kilos! Two police officers tried to lift it but couldn't manage to carry it away," said the priest, who believes it is impossible that one person was behind the theft. "It takes more than one person to take such an object".
Father Zhao has filed a complaint against the perpetrators and is trying to find a solution with the town hall to improve the security of the building; this is the fourth act of vandalism in a year.
Source: fr.aleteia.org lesalonbeige.fr
Image: lesalonbeige.fr