Saint’s skull stolen from Czech basilica, sealed in concrete
Czech police have arrested a 35-year-old man for stealing what is believed to be the skull of Saint Zdislava of Lemberk from a basilica north of Prague, encasing it in concrete and planning to dump it in a river.
The theft took place last week at the Basilica of St. Lawrence and St. Zdislava in Jablonne v Podjestedi, a town about 50 miles north of Prague, according to Radio Prague International.
The suspect smashed an ornate glass case housing the roughly 800-year-old relic with a blunt object shortly before an evening mass. A priest inside the building heard two loud bangs before seeing someone leave the church.
The basilica’s alarm had been turned off in preparation for the mass, Msgr. Pavel Schrotter, a spokesman for the church, told The New York Times.
Security footage captured the man at the church around the time of the theft, dressed in black. After leaving the building, he changed clothes and fled in a taxi, local media reports.
Police traced the suspect to Mlada Boleslav, a town about 25 miles from the church, where officers confronted him at his home. He admitted taking the skull but refused at first to say where it was.
After interrogation, the suspect told police he had sealed the skull in concrete and intended to throw it into a river, according to Reuters.
He disagreed with the church keeping the relic on public display and wanted to bury it. Petr Rajt, the police director for the northern region, said the man had wanted to bury it privately in a river.
The man, whom police did not name, was detained on Thursday. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted of theft.
Experts are now working to extract the skull from the concrete in which it was sealed.
Saint Zdislava of Lemberk lived from 1220 to 1252 and was known for founding monasteries and hospitals and her work for the poor. Pope John Paul II canonized her in 1995.
The basilica where the relic was kept bears her name alongside that of Saint Lawrence. Church relics, particularly the remains of canonized saints, are venerated objects in Catholic tradition, often displayed in reliquaries for the faithful to observe.
Czech law treats theft of cultural or religious artifacts as a serious offense, with sentences scaling to the assessed value and significance of the stolen item.
