Irish police are looking for a thief who stole a saint's heart.
A thief sneaked into Dublin's Holy Trinity Cathedral and ignored the precious gold and candlesticks, taking instead the preserved heart of Laurence O'Toole, the city's XNUMXth-century patron saint.
A spokesman for the cathedral told The Independent that the thief had to have a metal knife to remove the heart, which was stored in a wooden coffin inside a box with steel bars.
The cathedral's alarm was not activated, and no signs of a break-in were found, the spokesman said. He added that the three golden chalices and golden candles were not stolen from the chapel.
"It's completely bizarre. They didn't take anything else. This was their target, they wanted the heart of St. Lawrence O'Toole," said the spokesman.
Archbishop dejected
The cathedral's elder, Archbishop Dermont Dunn, admitted he was devastated by the theft.
"It has no economic value, but it is a priceless treasure that connects the members of our church with its founding father, St. Lawrence O'Toole," he added.
The police are working to analyze the footage from the surveillance cameras. The footage shows people entering the cathedral, and detectives are investigating the theory that the thieves may have hid overnight in the cathedral before breaking the steel box, writes "The Independent".
O'Toole was elected Archbishop of Dublin in 1162, and was canonized by Pope Honorius III in 1225. He is known for never eating meat, fasting every day, and living in a cave.
His preserved heart has been on display in Dublin Cathedral since the XNUMXth century.
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