Two sacred items stolen from a Roman Catholic church in Trinidad and Tobago have been returned days after the theft, along with a handwritten note from the person responsible expressing remorse and asking for forgiveness.

The two monstrances were found on Friday, June 12, inside a black garbage bag placed on the steps of St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in St James, a community in north-western Trinidad.

Parishioners arriving for the church’s 6:15 am.

Mass discovered the items and alerted parish priest Fr Emmanuel Pierre, who contacted police.

The monstrances were stolen during a break-in on June 2, shortly before the Catholic celebration of Corpus Christi.

The bag containing the sacred items also included TT$100 and a handwritten message that read: “Sorry father please pray for me ask God to forgive me and bless me.”

Monstrances are religious vessels used in the Catholic Church to hold the consecrated host during Eucharistic Adoration, a practice in which Catholics pray before the Blessed Sacrament.

Fr Pierre said he welcomed the return of the items but noted that only the person responsible could determine whether the message represented genuine repentance.

“Forgiveness is always important,” he told The Catholic News, adding that “anybody who repents is always a very good and noble response.”

The priest said there had been hope the items would be recovered, although there were doubts that they would be returned.

One of the monstrances was slightly damaged, with a piece detached that will require repair.

Pierre said the items will be cleaned and reconsecrated before being used again.

The return followed a dramatic incident on June 2, when Fr Pierre encountered an intruder inside the church while preparing for morning Mass.

The priest said the individual entered through a side door near the St James Medical Complex and fled after being confronted. He escaped in a vehicle that was waiting nearby.

Pierre said the intruder appeared to have attempted to remove the church’s tabernacle but abandoned the effort after being discovered.

Other items believed to have been targeted were also left behind.

Police investigators collected evidence from the scene, and investigations into the incident are ongoing.