No leads and no sign of a break-in leaves staff distraught
The 900-year-old heart of 12 century Irish Saint Lawrence O’Toole was stolen from the Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland.
Police officials are now studying security video tape in hopes of gaining evidence on who stole the preserved heart. Cameras are allegedly in the welcome desk of the cathedral but none happen to be in the interior part of the chapel where the heart was located.
According to police the heart was kept in a wooden box, caged in iron, and bolted to the Saint Lauds chapel wall. It had to have been pried open. The crime occurred sometime between Friday evening and Saturday morning. Police told CNN that the mystery so far is that there seems to be no sign of a break in and that nothing else from the chapel was stolen. There were even gold candlesticks left behind.
Local Roman Catholic officials are pleading for the return “no questions asked” of the tem so many deem priceless. The staff at the cathedral called the crime “awful and strange” and was “shocked and saddened” upon hearing of its disappearance.
St. Laurence O’Toole was unanimously voted in as archbishop of Dublin in the 12th century. He would die in 1180 and be canonized in 1225 by Pope Honorius III.
It is not unusual for the Catholic Church to preserve body parts of saints and other church officials. Pope John Paul II was recently declared “blessed,” placing him a level below sainthood, and the church took a vial of his blood to be preserved. Catholic Officials believe that the faithful are given a reference point for prayers through these relics.
