That thing in the middle of the alter is called something that sounds like "Monster" and it is the item that turns ordinary wafers and wine into the flesh and blood of Christ, allowing Catholics to practice cannibalism without actually killing people. It was made out of donated jewelry and to get it insured, it has to be kept in a vault. To make it visible and usable for transmogrifying, the alter was specially designed: the Monster lives behind 2inch thick bullet proof glass and there is a mechanism that raises and lowers it for the priests. The whole thing is set up on timers and key-codes and is very much like a bank vault.