Two churches were targeted in August by burglars in the department of Oise. The diocese calls for the "vigilance" of the parishioners.

Two weeks ago, two Oise churches were targeted by one or more burglars, reveals Le Parisien . The church of Saint-Éloi de Compiègne was first desecrated at the beginning of August, then the Saint-Samson church of Clermont was also degraded last week.

"A resurgence of anti-Christian acts"

In both buildings, the damage is the same: the thugs forced the tabernacle and stole the ciborium containing the consecrated hosts. "We violated a place of peaceful gathering and worship," laments in the columns of the daily Jacques Benoit-Gonnin, Bishop of Beauvais, Noyon and Senlis. A mass of repair will be celebrated Saturday by the bishop at the Saint-Samson church of Clermont. A similar mass had been celebrated at Compiegne on August 13th, after the desecration of the first church. "Two Masses of repair one after the other is never seen here," Father Emmanuel Gosset, Vicar General, told the newspaper, regretting "a resurgence of anti-Christian acts".

Several degradations of this type had already occurred in the department in recent months. The churches of St. Anthony and St. James at Compiegne had also been desecrated in the spring. The diocese then calls for the "vigilance" of the parishioners.

Secure places of worship

An inventory of the objects of worship kept in each church will be made with the help of the gendarmerie. It is also a question of "sheltering" valuable works. But the securing of the department's 745 places of worship is a "vast project", according to Dominique Vivant, who works on these issues of security in the art, culture and faith service of the diocese.

In spite of the emotion, the parishioner refuses that the churches close their doors. To ensure the safety of the buildings, groups of worshipers could be formed.