San Francisco, Calif., Aug 23, 2016 / 14:41 pm
A fragment from what is believed to be the True Cross of Christ, stolen from its home beneath a picture. It's a story one would associate with medieval legends or a Dan Brown novel.
However, the theft is unfortunately a very immediate - and very difficult - reality for one California parish.
"The first thing we want people to know is that if anyone has it or knows anything about it – just to bring it back," Fr. Michael Hurley, OP, pastor of St. Dominic's Church in San Francisco told CNA. "We just want it back."
The relic stolen is a fragment of what is believed to be the True Cross of Christ, an important relic and item of devotion dating back over two millennia to the Crucifixion. Catholic tradition holds that St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, found the Cross during her visits to the Holy Land in the 4th Century. The fragment housed at St. Dominic's has been verified by the Vatican as being a splinter from that Cross that St. Helena found.