Catholics in the Northwest part of Italy are shaken with the relic that was stolen from their Basilica. The missing relics are part of Saint John Bosco's brains displayed under the holy shrine of the revered servant of the poor. The suspect may have walked into the church just before its closing time on June 2, 2017, disguised as a pilgrim and just walked out of the Basilica with the glass encasement containing fragments of Don Bosco's brains.
The Salesian Order spokesman, Reverend Moreno Filippetto said that they really don't know, as of the moment, why the thief took interest in Don Bosco's brains. The reason maybe for ransom money or the relics for use in satanic rituals to defile the saint. Reports on the Turin newspaper, La Stampa, said that no further information presented so the police can work on their job without hindrance.
Saint John Bosco, more popularly known as Don Bosco, born in Castelnuovo, Italy on August 16, 1815, devoted his life to the service of the poor, deprived, underprivileged, and homeless children at the onset of the Industrial Revolution. The Order of Salesians grew to be the second largest order in the Catholic Church and is the biggest provider of technical and vocational training in the world. Salesian missions operate about 3,200 schools and training centers, over 70 colleges, a hospital, over 90 clinics, and 330 orphanages and shelters, reports Live Science.
The Castelnuovo Basilica is a place of worship and where Don Bosco's brains were displayed inside a glass encasement for pilgrims to give homage, but now it's a crime scene and no one is allowed near the premises. The theft of religious relics of saints is not new to Catholics. The preserved heart of Saint Laurence O'Toole, Dublin's patron saint, was stolen back in 2012 from the city cathedral while Pope John Paul II vial of blood was not spared by the thieves from a chapel in L'Aquila, Central Italy, 2014; but the thieves threw it away thinking it was nothing of value, reports National Post.
The Rector of the Basilica, Rev. Don Ezio Orsini prays that the thief returns the consecrated relic immediately without condition. One may steal a relic of Don Bosco but one cannot steal Don Bosco, he adds.
