Communion wafers found discarded in parking lot of West Virginia church after Easter Mass
Catholics who attended Easter Mass at a historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, church were met with a disturbing sight when they left the service to go back home — at least 100 Communion wafers were strewn across the parking lot and nearby street.
“[The people] were upset because they were concerned [they could be] consecrated hosts,” Father Timothy Grassi said of the incident that took place at 190-year-old St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church.
It’s unclear who placed the wafers on the ground or what message the perpetrator was trying to convey, but the church reported the action to the National Park Service law enforcement, which is investigating the matter. Grassi told CNA he has not received any updates since the incident was reported to the police.
Whoever spread the wafers on the ground did it while the Mass was being celebrated. The wafers were not present at the start of the Mass but were there when the Mass-goers exited the church, according to the priest.
Grassi said he is certain the wafers “were not from our church [because] none were missing and they were a different size.” He also said: “I don’t know of any churches that have identified having hosts stolen [to] that degree,” suggesting that they were probably not taken from a Catholic church and probably not consecrated.
“My best guess is that [these were] not consecrated hosts,” Grassi said.
