Harare, 26 January, 2022 / 9:20 pm (ACI Africa).
A Catholic Parish church in Zimbabwe has been closed following an incident of desecration during the early hours of Monday, January 24.
In a message obtained by ACI Africa, the Parish Priest of St. Andrew’s Catholic Parish of Bulawayo Archdiocese says robbers broke into the church and made away with “Monstrance, Chalices, Mass Kit, Ciboriums containing the Blessed Sacrament”.
“Dear St Andrew’s Parish Family, it is with a painful heart that I announce the temporary closure of St Andrew’s Parish Church due to a robbery break in and desecration that took place in the early hours of today January 24, 2022,” Fr. Louis Chileshe says in the message published on Facebook.
Unfortunately, Fr. Chileshe adds, the desecrators “also broke into the parish Church and stole the Monstrance, Chalices, Mass Kit, Ciboriums containing the Blessed Sacrament and broke down the tabernacle.”
Following the incident, the Parish Priest says he has “since managed to pick up the Blessed Sacrament, which they disposed of in many places in the bush and by the roadside.”
