“It’s painful for us,” comments Mgr Jordy

“The greatest pain is not the disappearance of a ciborium (1) but that of the consecrated hosts and wine which symbolize the presence of God among us. » This is how a parishioner sums up the emotion that dominates in the diocese of Tours after damage and theft hit several churches in the metropolis and Bouchardais.

Wednesday November 6, 2024, while closing the Saint-Pierre church which remained open all day in Druye, members of the parish team noticed that two paintings had disappeared. But above all that the tabernacle, the small cabinet in which the hosts consecrated by the priest are kept during mass, had been forced. “The Blessed Sacrament (that is to say the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, Editor's note) had been stolen like the ciborium », precise Father Rémy Soubrier, in charge of the parishes of Joué-lès-Tours, Ballan-Miré and Druye.

A serious fact but which could have remained anecdotal without the recurrence of the following days. At the Notre-Dame-La-Riche church, located rue Georges-Courteline in Tours, damage to the tabernacle was also noted on Saturday evening by a parishioner. “The double door was forced open with a crowbar”continues Father François du Sartel, dean of Tours Center. Here again, the hosts have disappeared. The police noted numerous fingerprints and estimated that “several people” would have committed the damage.

Such attacks on the sacred, which allow the use of the term “desecration”, were also reported Thursday, November 7, from the Saint-Symphorien church in Tours-Nord. “The tabernacle was indeed broken and opened but it was already empty”we explain on site.

Finally, this Thursday, November 14, even as the archbishop organized a press conference to denounce these facts, he was informed of other damage, this time at the Oratory of L'Île-Bouchard. “According to the same process », he lamented.

Satanic rituals in preparation?

Thefts from churches are not uncommon. But men of the Church note that “hosts” should have been found on the ground or near the forced tabernacles. Which is not the case. “We could talk about stupidity or theft of objects for their value. But four times in a row, we rather imagine the bad intention”comments Archbishop Vincent Jordy. Before developing: “ We have the feeling of a strategic action by a group over a week. This poses worrying questions. There is a project. » Half-heartedly, he mentions possible satanic rituals in preparation. Rituals already mentioned in September 2012 during similar flights in Cormery: consecrated hosts could take a central place.

Complaints will be filed for each church. But the buildings will remain open. “This is the destination of churches. We must be able to enter there to pray, to rest, to find peace… But there are precautionary measures to be taken” continued the archbishop.

And to worry “a somewhat general climate in France, with a lack of respect for each other. There can be a form of contempt for religion which can comfort some in the feeling that we can get away with anything…” And to call for living together. “We can debate, but acting in this way hurts and damages. These flights are painful for us…”

Mass of “reparation”

The diocese plans masses said “repair” in the future. These celebrations, “during which we ask for forgiveness”, it is explained in Carmel, include in particular a penitential rite in order to purify the sacred place.

(1) Sacred cup-shaped vase, where hosts are kept.