A fragment of the relics of St. Nicholas was stolen and destroyed in France

A relic containing a fragment of St. Nicholas’s body was stolen in the French town of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port. The incident occurred on November 2 at the local basilica.

The suspect was arrested. He confessed to breaking the display case, taking the reliquary, and later burning and smashing the relic. The man explained his actions by his belief that the veneration of human remains is a form of idolatry.

The stolen fragment was traditionally believed to be part of a finger from St. Nicholas’s right hand. According to legend, the relic was brought from Bari, Italy, to Lorraine as early as 1098.

At the same time, the basilica’s main relic remained intact. It is kept in the church treasury in a special reliquary shaped like a hand.

The destroyed relic held special historical significance for the region, which has been an important pilgrimage center for centuries. The city also traditionally holds celebrations in honor of Saint Nicholas on the eve of December 6.

Source: Daily Mail

The Russian Orthodox Church has acknowledged the loss of a fragment of the relic—a portion of the remains of the medieval Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy—which had been brought to the front lines to boost the morale of the occupying forces. Russian troops left the reliquary containing the relic behind during a chaotic retreat from a prayer service near Lyman.

The relics of St. John the Baptist were delivered to Kalush in the Carpathian region for permanent safekeeping at the Church of St. Michael the Archangel of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The relic was handed over by Bishop Irenaeus Bilyk, a papal canon of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

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