Thieves steal holy relics in Taranto

Patron saint's skull robbed from church

(ANSA) - Taranto, March 21 - Thieves have made off with holy relics from a church in the southern port city of Taranto, police said Friday. The crime took place during the night, the culprits smashed a glass case housed in St. Pasquale Church and removed a bronze container that held fragments of the skull of St Egidio Maria of Saint Joseph. St. Egidio, along with St. Cataldo, is Taranto's patron saint.

The theft was discovered Friday by a church priest who immediately alerted police.