A Salt Lake City diocese is calling for the return of a relic that belonged to one of the New Testament’s most famous figures after it was stolen.
A bone fragment smaller than a fingernail belonging to Mary Magdalene was stolen from the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City on July 10.
“I think the relic cannot be recovered. It is lost,” Father Martin Diaz told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. “We have searched the neighbourhood and in nearby rubbish bins, but without success.”
“We have a pretty good idea of who took the relic, and I don’t think they even remember it being here,” he said in a news release.
Cathedral staff discovered the relic was missing after finding the reliquary (the box containing the special item) smashed on the floor.
“Most likely the person who took the relic out realized it was worthless and threw it in the trash or on the lawn,” Diaz told DailyMail.com.
A bone fragment smaller than a fingernail belonging to Mary Magdalene was stolen from the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City on July 10.
Cathedral staff discovered the relic was missing after finding the reliquary (the box containing the special item) smashed on the floor.
The religious institution has contacted police and is currently offering a $1,000 reward for information about the missing item.
The relic has been owned by the church since 1918 and is woven into a red cloth that has a fleur-de-lis pattern printed on it that was glued onto cardboard and placed inside a bronze and glass reliquary, according to the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper.
It usually takes “two people” to transport the reliquary, and Díaz says the precious object “has no monetary value.”
“In that sense, it’s something that has no value and no price at the same time,” he said. ABC 4“For us, there is no price for it, and it breaks your heart that something that is so precious to the community is, in a sense, desecrated.”
Mary Magdalene is a figure from the New Testament of the Bible and one of the best-known followers of Jesus.
Although Diaz does not believe the person had “any knowledge” of “what he was doing,” he said the missing relic has caused “a lot of pain and grief in the community.”
The second bishop of the diocese, Joseph Glass, brought the relic from France in 1918, along with a second relic of the cross of Christ.
But it’s not just Diaz who misses the special relic, Cristina Rosetti, an expert in religious studies, told The Tribune she was “devastated” to hear the news and that it created a “wound” for the church.
The Salt Lake institution is the only cathedral in the country named after the devoted follower of Jesus.
Although Diaz said the church could “get another relic in Rome,” he admitted it would not be of Mary Magdalene, as they are rare to find.
“We are losing the connection with Bishop Glass and our precious history,” he said.
“The next step is to request a relic of St Mary Magdalene from the Vatican relics office,” he told DailyMail.com.
The Salt Lake institution is the only cathedral in the country named after a devout follower of Jesus.
Mary Magdalene is a figure from the New Testament of the Bible and one of the best-known followers of Jesus.
Magdalene remained with Jesus during the crucifixion and was present at his tomb.
She was also the first person to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection.
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