Priceless relic stolen from Salt Lake City church remains missing

SALT LAKE CITY — After almost a week of searching for a stolen religious relic, the Diocese of Salt Lake City believes the historical item is gone for good.

On July 10 around 6:30 a.m., someone took what is believed to be the fingernail-sized bone fragment of religious figure and Saint Mary Magdalene from the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

"Mary Magdalene. We're talking 2,000 years ago," said John Neville.

"I feel like something is missing here," said Marco Jacinto.

Father Martin Diaz said they have an idea of who stole the relic, but there's been no arrest. He believes it's gone for good.

"That's where we are now. We just think that it got into a garbage can, to a dumpster, walked away, looked at it, thought it would be valuable and then just tossed it," he said.

Not only is the alleged bone fragment religiously significant, but it's also historically significant to the Cathedral of the Madeline.

Diaz said the relic was brought to Salt Lake over 100 years ago by Bishop Joseph Glass. Glass is behind the building's colorful interior design you see today.

"For us, we've lost part of our history. Part of our connection," said Diaz. "We're looking for a miracle. It would be a miracle if it came back."

Diaz said the support they've seen has helped them this past week.

"It turns out that the Carmelite nuns have a relic of Saint Mary Magdalene in their monastery here in Sandy," he said. "So we will be able to use that for our Feast Day on Monday."

They intend to add more security cameras around the building but refuse to let the theft discourage them.

"We want to keep our doors open. We want to be able to welcome people," said Diaz. "It's this kind of thing that makes you think, 'Can we do that?' Yes, we're going to go forward and be that welcoming place."

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