A reliquary containing the blood of Pope John Paul II, kept in the church of Saint Pietro, a small parish located in the Abruzzo mountainous region in central Italy, was stolen on the weekend by a group of unknown assailants, said a church spokesmen on Monday.
According to EFE, the thieves broke into the sanctuary and stole the vial containing the Pope's blood. Fifty Carabinieri units, members of the Italian military police, were deployed to find and recover the vial and apprehend the thieves if possible.
According to Reuters, John Paul II loved the Abruzzo Mountains, east of Rome, a region he visited many times to pray in the Church of Saint Pietro.
The Polish Pope's blood was reportedly placed in a round reliquary made from crystal and gold, which was in turn kept in an urn in the sanctuary of Saint Pietro della Ienca, close to the city of L'Aquila.
The blood was a gift from Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Pope John Paul II's private secretary, to the community of Abruzzo to show the love Pope John Paul II felt for the region. The Pope is said to have travelled there in secret over 100 times to enjoy brief moments of peace amid his obligations in the Vatican.
This close relationship between the Pope and the church of Saint Pietro was such that six years after his death, in 2011, it was promoted to a sanctuary dedicated to the memory of the Pope John Paul II.
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