Stolen tabernacle returned to Detroit Catholic church

Published: 2005-02-02

DETROIT (CNS) -- A tabernacle, stolen from St. Augustine and St. Monica Church in Detroit Jan. 10 by thieves who reportedly thought it was a safe, was returned Jan. 27. According to a man who returned the tabernacle to the church for a monetary reward, two men and a woman had taken the tabernacle and later brought it to him for some money. He returned the tabernacle and some of its contents, including a ciborium, which is a container for consecrated hosts; a custodia, used to transport hosts; and a lunette, a crescent-shaped clip used to hold the host upright in a monstrance. Except for one large consecrated host contained in the lunette, the others that had been in the tabernacle were missing, allegedly consumed by the thieves who told the man they were hungry. "We're happy the tabernacle and its contents were returned, but we're especially grateful to learn the Blessed Sacrament had not been treated in a sacrilegious manner," said Father Daniel Trapp, pastor of St. Augustine and St. Monica Parish.

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