A priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in New Bedford’s South End was struck in the face with a beer can Monday evening after he says a man tried to steal the sacred vessel used to display the Holy Eucharist during confessions and adoration. Father Chris Peschel escorted the man, later identified by police as 59-year-old Jose Nascimento, outside the church, where a struggle broke out before officers arrived and made an arrest.
New Bedford Police responded to Mount Carmel Church on Bonney Street just after 5:15 p.m. Monday, according to police statements reported by 1420 WBSM. Nascimento allegedly entered the church and attempted to steal the monstrance, the ornate vessel that holds the consecrated Host, before knocking items over on the altar. When Peschel intervened, Nascimento allegedly hit him with a beer can and became involved in a physical confrontation with the priest and a bystander who helped subdue him.
Peschel said he pinned Nascimento down with the bystander’s help until officers reached the scene, per the same report. He was later taken to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was evaluated for a minor facial injury. The 293-bed medical center on Page Street, operated by Southcoast Health, includes a Level II Trauma Center and an emergency department that handles more than 90,000 visits a year, according to Southcoast Health.
A Sacred Object at the Center of the Struggle
The monstrance is not just church furniture — in Catholic theology it is the vessel used during Eucharistic Adoration to display the consecrated Host, which Catholics believe holds the real presence of Jesus Christ, according to Catholic World Mission. Adoration offers a dedicated period outside of Mass for quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, the same source notes, which helps explain why an attempted theft during that time drew such an immediate and physical response from the priest.
Nascimento was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and threat to commit a crime, per the WBSM report. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 15A, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in state prison or up to 2.5 years in a house of correction, along with fines up to $5,000, according to the Lown Law Firm. Massachusetts case law holds that an ordinary object like a beer can, when used in a dangerous manner to inflict harm, can satisfy the legal definition of a dangerous weapon.
Booking Details and Police Jurisdiction
Booking information released by police indicates Nascimento is a resident of Purchase Street in New Bedford, a major north-south corridor through the center of the city, according to NewBedfordGuide. Emergency calls to the Bonney Street church fall within the territorial jurisdiction of the New Bedford Police Department’s Station 2 division on Cove Street, which handles police response for the South End and waterfront areas.
Peschel, speaking publicly after the attack, said nobody else was hurt and praised the response from first responders, saying NBPD, the ambulance crew, and St. Luke’s staff were all helpful. He also said he forgave his attacker. That posture is consistent with Peschel’s standing in the Diocese of Fall River — he was ordained in 2014 and currently serves as pastor of Mount Carmel Parish, dean of the New Bedford Deanery, and chaplain to the Massachusetts State Police, according to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River. The diocese, led by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, oversees five regional deaneries spanning Bristol, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties.
A Landmark Parish in the South End
Mount Carmel Church has anchored New Bedford’s South End since it was established in September 1902 to serve the city’s rapidly growing Portuguese immigrant population, making it the second Portuguese Catholic parish founded in the city, according to the parish’s own history. The church building on Bonney Street was completed in 1904 and later absorbed the congregation of St. John the Baptist, North America’s oldest Portuguese Catholic parish. Today the parish remains a cultural and social hub for the neighborhood, hosting community gatherings and its annual summer feast, which marked its 30th anniversary in July, per Providence News Today.
Open questions remain about how the case will proceed. It is not yet clear when Nascimento will be arraigned in New Bedford District Court, whether Bristol County prosecutors will pursue enhanced charges given that the alleged theft and assault occurred inside a place of worship, or whether the parish will add security measures during open adoration hours going forward.
