The story of the theft of the relic of John Paul II from the Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament transcended thanks to an anonymous savior.
In Argentina and in the world you can find numerous anecdotes and stories of robberies that, although they did not have million-dollar loot or fatalities, had a very particular outcome. Sometimes, the protagonist is not even the original thief, but the stolen object that transcends history.
This is the case of one of the most important relics of the Catholic religionwhich was in a basilica in Retiro, City of Buenos Buenos, when a mysterious man stole it from the walls of the church. Its value, more than monetary, was historical, since it kept a part of the Pope John Paul II The crime hero? An anonymous person who returned it a few months later.
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The day a relic of Pope John Paul II was stolen in Argentina
The robbery occurred at the end of July in the Basilica of the Blessed Sacramentlocated near Plaza San Martín. The stolen relic was a reliquary containing a drop of blood of Pope Saint John Paul IIframed in a painting that included the papal bronze shield and the inscription “Totus tuus”, his episcopal motto. The piece was hanging below a painting with the image of the pontiff, which was left intact after the incident.
The father Rafael Caceres Olaveparish priest of the basilica, did not file a formal complaint with the police, discouraged by the lack of receptiveness when he mentioned the incident to a local police officer. However, the loss generated a great concern both in the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, in charge of the church since 1928, and in the Prayer Group Spiritual Children of John Paul IIwho meet there monthly.
In the weeks following the robbery, Father Cáceres Olave He visited fairs and antique dealers’ houses looking for traces of the relic, fearing that it would be reduced by the value of the bronze on the shield.
How he recovered
Shortly after the news was published reporting the theft, a mysterious man He appeared at the basilica with a bag and a frame wrapped in paper. Behind all the packaging was the box containing the bronze shield and relic of John Paul II. According to what the priest said, this anonymous bought the piece online without knowing its value, being attracted by the “little flower” that it had in the center. When he saw that it was a religious asset, decided to return it to the church.
As a preventive measure, Cáceres Olave decided to keep the painting and not expose it publicly again, to prevent events like this from being repeated in the future.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
