An investigation has been opened in France following the disappearance of a relic of Pope John Paul II which was exhibited in the basilica of
Paray-le-Monial
, in the east of the country, a place of pilgrimage where the pontiff celebrated a mass in 1986. .
The relic consists of a piece of cloth of one square centimeter, stained by the blood of
John Paul II
on the occasion of the attempted attack which he was the victim of in May
1981 in St. Peter's Square
. It was made by the local newspaper, Le Journal de Saone-et-Loire.
The gendarmes investigate after the complaint presented by the parish for the theft, which took place "between 8 and 9 January" - confirmed
the Macon prosecutor
- and discovered "in the evening, by the sacristan who closes the basilica daily".
The relic was in one of the three chapels, "in a small box placed under a glass bell", under the photo of the Polish pope.
It was donated to the church by the archbishop of Krakow in 2016, in memory of the narrow escape of John Paul II.
