Italian police
hunting for a stolen relic bearing the blood of Pope John Paul ll have
recovered its gold and glass case, officials say.
But the
cloth stained with the blood itself is still missing.
The cloth
came from a cassock that John Paul was wearing in 1981, when a gunman tried to
assassinate him.
Three
suspects, who allegedly stole the relic from the church in the Abruzzo region
but threw the cloth away not realising its value, were arrested.
A search
is under way on the outskirts of L'Aquila city. It is concentrated on an area
built for people made homeless by the region's 2009 earthquake.
Crucifix
found
The relic
- a framed, tiny square of cloth - was stolen last weekend during a burglary of
the San Pietro della Ienca church in the mountains of Abruzzo.
It was a
place of special significance to the ski-loving Pope who died in 2005.
Pasquale
Corriere, head of the association that looks after the small church, told the
Reuters news agency that two suspects had taken police to the area where they
had dumped the reliquary.
The case
was found, but the cloth was no longer inside, he said.
However a
small crucifix which was stolen along with the reliquary was recovered.
The ANSA
news agency - citing police sources - said that the thieves "did not
understand the relic's value".
"[They]
cannot remember where they threw away the precious loot," the agency
reported.(BBC)
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