The search continues for the heart of the patron saint of Dublin, stolen by thieves from a Church of Ireland cathedral on Saturday.
Officials at Christ Church Cathedral said they are distraught and perplexed over the theft of the church’s most precious relic, the preserved heart of St Laurence O’Toole.
The relic had been displayed in the cathedral since the 13th century. It was stored in a heart-shaped wooden box and secured in a small, square iron cage on the wall of a chapel dedicated to his memory.
On Saturday someone cut through two bars, pried the cage loose, and made off with the relic.
"I am devastated that one of the treasured artifacts of the cathedral is stolen," said Rev Dermot Dunne, the cathedral’s dean.
The relic had been displayed in the cathedral since the 13th century. It was stored in a heart-shaped wooden box and secured in a small, square iron cage on the wall of a chapel dedicated to his memory.
On Saturday someone cut through two bars, pried the cage loose, and made off with the relic.
"I am devastated that one of the treasured artifacts of the cathedral is stolen," said Rev Dermot Dunne, the cathedral’s dean.
"It has no economic value but it is a priceless treasure that links our present foundation with its founding father."
Gardaí said detectives were studying hours of CCTV footage to try to identify the approximately 40 people who walked out the cathedral’s front doors on Saturday morning.
Officers believe the thief may have hidden overnight in the cathedral and fled with the heart when its doors opened Saturday.
Worshippers didn’t spot that the relic was missing until Saturday afternoon. No arrests have been made.
O’Toole was Dublin’s archbishop from 1162 to 1180, and gained a reputation as a skillful mediator between rival Gaelic and Norman factions then fighting for power in Ireland.
He died aged 58 while travelling in Normandy on another peace mission. On his death bed he was said to have declined to make a will, claiming not to have a penny to his name.
Pope Honorius III canonised him in 1225 on the weight of many claims of miracles at his original grave site.
His heart had been the last surviving part of his remains. His bones were re-interred in an English church yard in 1442 but were dug up and disappeared during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
Although O’Toole is mainly revered by Roman Catholics, Christ Church Cathedral has been a centre of worship for the Church of Ireland since the Reformation.
There have been a number of robberies of artefacts from Irish churches in recent times.
Last year three relics, believed to be fragments of the cross used to crucify Jesus, were stolen from Holy Cross Abbey in County Tipperary. Police recovered those relics in January, though no one was arrested.
Also in January, a thief stole the ornate container housing the jawbone of St Brigid from a Dublin church.
Gardaí said detectives were studying hours of CCTV footage to try to identify the approximately 40 people who walked out the cathedral’s front doors on Saturday morning.
Officers believe the thief may have hidden overnight in the cathedral and fled with the heart when its doors opened Saturday.
Worshippers didn’t spot that the relic was missing until Saturday afternoon. No arrests have been made.
O’Toole was Dublin’s archbishop from 1162 to 1180, and gained a reputation as a skillful mediator between rival Gaelic and Norman factions then fighting for power in Ireland.
He died aged 58 while travelling in Normandy on another peace mission. On his death bed he was said to have declined to make a will, claiming not to have a penny to his name.
Pope Honorius III canonised him in 1225 on the weight of many claims of miracles at his original grave site.
His heart had been the last surviving part of his remains. His bones were re-interred in an English church yard in 1442 but were dug up and disappeared during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
Although O’Toole is mainly revered by Roman Catholics, Christ Church Cathedral has been a centre of worship for the Church of Ireland since the Reformation.
There have been a number of robberies of artefacts from Irish churches in recent times.
Last year three relics, believed to be fragments of the cross used to crucify Jesus, were stolen from Holy Cross Abbey in County Tipperary. Police recovered those relics in January, though no one was arrested.
Also in January, a thief stole the ornate container housing the jawbone of St Brigid from a Dublin church.
The container, called a reliquary, was bolted down to the altar. However, it had just been cleaned and so the jawbone of St Brigid was not inside.