St. James police are investigating the theft of two monstrances from St. Mary’s RC Church, Mucurapo, St. James, during a break-in early Tuesday morning.
Parish priest Father Emmanuel Pierre said he encountered the intruder shortly after arriving at the church around 5:15am to prepare for the 6:15am Mass.
According to Father Pierre, he discovered the sacristy had been ransacked and found that two gold-plated monstrances, used to display the consecrated Eucharistic host for adoration and veneration, were missing.
After turning on the lights, he reportedly saw a person dressed in a white overall inside the church. He shouted at the suspect, who fled through a side door and escaped in a waiting vehicle on the nearby hospital compound.
Investigators were told that the intruders also attempted to remove the tabernacle but abandoned it on the church floor when the priest arrived.
The scheduled morning Mass was subsequently cancelled as police officers responded to the scene and processed evidence.
Officials estimate the value of the stolen monstrances at approximately TT$15,000.
Church representatives say the items will need to be replaced before the Corpus Christi celebrations on Thursday.
St. James police are continuing investigations into the incident.