St. Laurence O'Toole Relic Stolen at Dublin Church; Was in Christ Church Cathedral Since 13th Century

The Associated Press website reports that officials at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland said today (March 4, 2012) that they are distraught and perplexed over the theft of the church's most precious relic: the preserved heart of St. Laurence O'Toole, patron saint of Dublin.

O'Toole's heart had been displayed in the cathedral since the 13th century. It was stored in a heart-shaped wooden box and secured in a small, square iron cage on the wall.

"I'm devastated that one of the treasured artifacts of the cathedral is stolen," said the Most Rev. Dermot Dunne, the cathedral dean.

Ireland's national police force -- called the Garda Siochana -- said detectives were studying hours of closed-circuit TV footage to try to identify approximately 40 people who walked out of the cathedral's front doors yesterday morning.