Church loses monstrance to burglars; parishioners ordered to do penance

A church in Quezon City has closed its adoration chapel indefinitely after thieves stole its monstrance and its parishioners were ordered to do “community penance” for the theft, which the parish priest has described as a “sacrilegious act.”

The monstrance, also called an ostensorium, is a gold or silver container in which the Host is displayed for adoration by the Catholic faithful.

Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of the Diocese of Cubao also ordered that the Christ the King Parish in Barangay Veterans Village be closed for three days – from Jan. 13 to 15 – as a result of the incident.

During this period, masses were held outside the church. Parishioners then participated in a procession displaying an image of the parish’s patron saint as a form of “community penance.”

Parish secretary Rita Sta. Ana said the closure of the adoration chapel was indefinite and that as of yesterday morning, there was still no word from the diocese when the order would be lifted.

On the door of the adoration chapel was a notice posted by parish priest Henry Ferreras condemning the burglary.

“Together let us pray that this sacrilegious act be stopped,” he said.

Sta. Ana said it was the first time that the parish fell victim to burglars and the incident has caused parish officials to “tighten security” at the church.

“Those who did it have no conscience,” Sta. Ana told The STAR in a recent interview.

Sta. Ana said the incident happened at noon on Jan. 12. She said that prior to the incident, a church worker saw two men and a woman praying at the adoration chapel, located at the side of the church.

“Normally we close the chapel at noon up to 2 p.m. but on that day, since there were people inside it, our worker decided to leave it open,” Sta. Ana said.

However, when the church worker came back at around 1:30 p.m., he discovered that the monstrance containing the Host was missing.

She said no one saw when and how those who stole it carried the monstrance and left the church.

According to Sta. Ana, those who stole the gold-plated monstrance may have thought they could sell it.

“But it (monstrance) has little or no monetary value… What we’re after is the sanctity of the monstrance, which had the body of Christ inside it,” she said. 

Sta. Ana said parish workers are always on the lookout whenever there are persons inside the church. “If there are no more people inside and there is no scheduled Mass, we just close the church,” she said.

She said they had the incident recorded in the blotter at the village hall. So far, there is still no word on who may have stolen the monstrance.