Relics of St. Nicholas stolen from Catholic basilica in France
A reliquary containing relics of St. Nicholas was stolen from a basilica in the French town of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port.
In France's Meurthe-et-Moselle department, a cleric at the Catholic basilica in Saint-Nicolas-de-Port reported the theft of a reliquary containing fragments of the relics of St. Nicholas to the police, Prodpress reports.
The cleric filed a complaint at the police station in Dombasle-sur-Meurthe. Authorities have launched an investigation, but details of the case have not yet been made public.
Reports circulating online claim that a suspect has already been detained, that he burned the reliquary out of religious hatred, and that a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation found him mentally competent.
However, French authorities and the Nancy prosecutor's office have not confirmed these claims.
Representatives of a local historical association noted that the basilica houses several reliquaries containing fragments of human remains from different sources.
As the UOJ previously reported, relics were stolen from a Catholic church in the Czech Republic.
