“The greatest pain is not the disappearance of a ciborium, but that of the hosts and the consecrated wine which symbolize the presence of God among us. » This parishioner, who requires anonymity, sums up the emotion that dominates in the diocese of Tours after damage and theft hit several churches in the metropolis.
“Three churches in the Touraine area have been desecrated in recent days, the tabernacles forced and the ciboria and the Blessed Sacrament stolen, announced the archbishop's services, in a press release sent to the press, Thursday November 14, 2024. These painful and hurtful events for the Catholic community unfortunately reveal how our society is affected by worrying forms of violence, ignorance and lack of civility. »
Tags and damage
According to our information, confirmed by police sources, the tabernacles of the churches of Notre-Dame La Riche, in Tours, and Saint-Pierre, in Druye, were forced open and the ciboriums stolen. Profanations of the sacred which spared the Saint-Symphorien church, where “the tabernacle was indeed broken and opened on Thursday [7 novembre] but was already empty »we explain on site.
On November 9, 2024, on the sidelines of the procession of an ultra-right group in Tours and the demonstrations organized around Saint-Martin, tags appeared on several buildings in the city center. The inscriptions “Tours Antifa” and “Saint-Martin would have extinguished the flame of fascism” were notably discovered a few hours later on the square in front of the Saint-Gatien cathedral and on facades near the Saint-Martin basilica.
Mass of “reparation”
Without specifying a date, at the time of publishing these lines, the diocese is planning so-called masses of reparation in the days to come. These celebrations, “during which we ask for forgiveness”we explain to the Carmel, include in particular a penitential rite in order to purify the sacred place.
