"Loud Bangs in Broad Daylight"...800-Year-Old Saint’s Skull Stolen from Czech Cathedral

Saint’s 13th-century Skull Stolen from Czech Cathedral
Suspect Breaks Reliquary in Chapel and Flees
“An Attack on the Sacred... May Be Cursed”

The theft of an 800-year-old saint’s skull from a cathedral in the Czech Republic in broad daylight has shocked the nation.

Broken relic box. Photo by Czech police X

According to a report by Yonhap News on the 13th (local time), citing AFP and other sources, “Police stated that the skull of Saint Zdislava (1220–1252) disappeared the previous afternoon from the Cathedral of Saints Lawrence and Zdislava in Jablonne v Podjestedi, a village in northern Czech Republic.”

Police believe the thief broke open the reliquary in the chapel and stole the remains, and released footage showing a suspect dressed in dark clothing. In the released video, the suspect—wearing black clothing and white shoes—can be seen running between the pews inside the cathedral while holding the skull. Although the suspect was initially identified as a man, police said this is unconfirmed and that they are continuing to analyze closed-circuit (CC) TV footage.

The theft appears to have occurred just before evening mass. At the time, the alarm system had been switched off to prepare for the service, and only a single priest was present in the sacristy preparing for the mass. The skull was enshrined at one of the side altars in the cathedral’s nave. Pavel P. Mayer, Prior of the Dominican Monastery in Jablonne v Podjestedi, stated, “When I came out to the altar, I heard two loud bangs and saw someone fleeing.”

Saint Zdislava is revered in the Czech Republic as a national patron saint. Born into the old Bohemian nobility, she is said to have prayed in the forest and helped the poor from the age of seven. She was beatified in 1907 by Pope Pius X and canonized in 1995 by Pope John Paul II. The skull had been enshrined in a gold-plated reliquary since 1908, remaining there for over a century, while the rest of her remains were interred in the crypt beneath the cathedral. The cathedral itself was built between 1699 and 1729 over her tomb and has served as a major pilgrimage site for visitors to the region.

Police spokesperson Dagmar Sohorova stated, “We are working to determine the monetary value of the stolen relic, but its historical significance is unquestionably immeasurable.” Stanislav Pribyl, Archbishop of Prague, said, “Theft from a sacred place—especially the theft of a saint’s remains—is an attack on the sacred,” and warned that “those who steal relics may be cursed or face misfortune. This is not a threat but a reality,” while urging for the relic’s return. Josef Nuzik, chairman of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, also appealed, saying, “There is still an opportunity to right this wrong,” and asked for the remains to be returned.

Such thefts targeting religious artworks and relics have persisted, fueling concerns over the security of cultural assets. In September last year, the relic of Carlo Acutis—the first millennial saint in Catholic history, canonized just two days earlier—was stolen from a church in Venezuela, causing shock. The stolen relic was reported to be a small piece of cloth kept in a glass reliquary.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.