Armed Intruders Desecrate Chapel in Tlaxcala on Holy Saturday, Steal Consecrated Hosts

Armed men attack worshippers and steal consecrated hosts in Tlaxcala, Mexico, prompting prayers and a reparation rite by Bishop Salcedo Aquino.

Newsroom (07/04/2026 Gaudium Press) In the early hours of Holy Saturday, April 4, a group of armed intruders invaded a chapel dedicated to the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Diocese of Tlaxcala, Mexico. The attack left the faithful shaken, as worshippers gathered in prayer were assaulted, robbed, and forced to witness an act that the Catholic Church deems one of its gravest offenses — the theft of the ciborium containing consecrated hosts.

According to Julio C. Salcedo Aquino, M.J., Bishop of Tlaxcala, the assault took place in the small community of San Lucas, Cuauhtelulpan, located southwest of the state capital. In a statement, the bishop confirmed that those in Eucharistic adoration “were threatened, beaten and robbed of their belongings,” emphasizing the profound distress caused by the invasion.

“We regret this incident, especially for the lives and well-being of the people who suffered this offense,” Bishop Salcedo Aquino said. He asked the faithful to pray for the victims, expressing his concern for their “peace and physical and spiritual harmony.”

The bishop went on to speak with visible emotion about the deeper spiritual implications of the act. “These events deeply wound us because, among the crimes committed against the Catholic faith, the theft of the Eucharist is one of the most serious,” he stated. He reminded the faithful that such a sacrilege carries automatic excommunication for those responsible under Church law.

Drawing a parallel to the sorrow of the first Christians at the Resurrection, Bishop Salcedo compared the incident to Mary Magdalene’s discovery of the empty tomb: “These events, perpetrated on Holy Saturday, lead us to live as a Church in Tlaxcala in close proximity to Mary Magdalene, who goes to the tomb to honor the body of Jesus and, finding it empty, runs to tell the apostle Peter, saying: They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

But even amid shock and grief, the bishop called for compassion. He urged the Catholic community to pray “intensely for the people who stole the Holy Eucharist,” expressing hope that they might experience conversion and return the consecrated hosts.

Bishop Salcedo Aquino also announced concrete steps for spiritual reparation. He instructed all parish priests in the Diocese of Tlaxcala to organize “days of Eucharistic prayer” and invited the faithful to participate in a special rite of reparation on Saturday, April 11, at 5 p.m. local time, in the Church of St. Luke, Cuauhtelulpan — the same place targeted by the thieves.

As Holy Week came to a close under the weight of this act of sacrilege, the Tlaxcala Catholic community found itself bound more tightly in faith and mourning, united in their reverence for the Eucharist and their resolve to restore peace through prayer.

• Raju Hasmukh with files from ACI Digital

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