Dogs Sniff for Late Pope's Stolen Blood
Dogs Sniff for Late Popes Stolen Blood
Dozens of police with sniffer dogs searched the area around the church
of San Pietro della Ienca in the central mountainous Abbruzzo region of
Italy for a stolen relic containing a fragment of cloth stained with the
blood of the late Pope John Paul II.
The relic is believed to have been stolen Saturday night from the small
stone church together with a small simple cross, according to police.
Pasquale Corriere, president of the Cultural Center that takes care of
the sanctuary, said he believed this was a "commissioned theft." He was
alerted to the theft by his daughter, who saw the rails protecting the
church sawed on Sunday morning and noticed that the relic was no longer
in its place.
"Whoever broke in came for the relic, that is clear, all the rest was left untouched including the offering box," Corriere said.
The small church is in the Gran Sasso mountains near the city of
l'Aquila was dear to Pope John Paul II, who visited the area more than
100 times during his papacy, where he would walk and meditate and was
even known to have skied down the slopes as a young pope. The area has
become a place of pilgrimage for people in search of peace or wishing to
pray.
The relic is a small piece of cloth soaked in blood the pope lost during
the 1980 attempt on his life in St. Peter's Square and is only one of
three of its kind. This one was given to the people of L'Aquila in 2011,
after the devastating earthquake that struck the area, by the pope's
personal secretary, now cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz. The cardinal has
visited the church a number of times since the late pope's death in 2005
and donated a bell in the pope's memory. In 2011, the church was given
Sanctuary status and dedicated to Pope John Paul II.
Some experts are even suggesting that this theft could be linked to a
satanic cult. Objects like this relic, with a special symbolic value,
are particularly sought after by the flourishing trade in religious
objects.
"This area is not known for this sort of thing and nothing like this has
ever happened…I don't know what to think," said Corriere. A criminal
investigation has been opened by the local prosecutor's office.
The Vatican has announced that Pope John Paul II will be made a saint on
April 27, along with Pope John XXIII, and Rome is planning for millions
of faithful to come for the ceremony.
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