By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Angry parishioners at a Catholic Church in Florida successfully prevented a man from stealing consecrated Hosts by wrestling him to the ground and holding him there until police arrived.
The incident occurred on Nov. 8 at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Jensen Beach, Florida when 33 year old John Samuel Ricci of Canton, Connecticut “attempted to steal a handful of communion wafers from the priest,” according to the police report.
Witnesses say Ricci took communion from the priest and started to walk away without consuming it. The priest asked him to consume the host but Ricci refused to do so. Ricci then turned to the priest and grabbed a handful of Hosts and attempted to leave the church.
According to the police report, “enraged and offended parishioners moved in front of Mr. Ricci in an attempt to keep him from leaving the church.”
When Ricci saw this, he became enraged and “began to curse and act ‘crazy’,” witnesses told police.
An altercation ensued when Ricci tried to push his way through the parishioners but he was eventually wrestled to the floor and held there by a half dozen people until police arrived. Two parishioners age 82 and 61 suffered minor injuries in the scuffle.
Deputies arrested Ricci and charged him with two counts of simple battery, theft and disruption of a religious assembly. He has revealed no motive for the attempted theft and is presently being held at the Martin County Jail on $2,000 bond.
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