Thieves last week broke into St Simon and Jude Catholic Church in Chileka, Blantyre, where they went away with a ciborium full of the holy communion, the church has said.
Archdiocese of Blantyre pastoral secretary Father Alfred Chaima confirmed the ransacking of the outstation between January 1 to 5 this year by unidentified robbers.
“His Lordship Bishop Monfort Stima has asked me to communicate to you of the unfortunate incident that has happened in the archdiocese. They [thieves] forced the door of the tabernacle open and went away with a ciborium full of the Blessed Sacrament,” said Chaima.
He described the crime a very serious and unfortunate incident that goes beyond ordinary burglary.
Chaima said the church yesterday held a vigil mass which will be followed by a solemn mass on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord today.
According to the priest, Stima, who is apostolic administrator of the Blantyre Archdiocese, was scheduled to preside over the two masses.
Chaima appealed to priests and members of the church to engage in serious prayer and intense religious acts such as fasting to seek revelation of the truth on the matter and ask God to lead communities to repentance.
“As can be seen with this incident, humanity is going too far! The Holy Eucharist should never be subject to any rebuke in the life of the Church in this manner,” he said.
