Reliquary Stolen in 2017 Found in an Auction House in France
The reliquary stolen in 2017 from the Lower Rhine pilgrimage site of Kevelaer has reappeared in an auction house in France. Thanks to an art collector, who recalled the theft from the Kevelaer Sacrament Chapel, the reliquary was identified. He contacted the head of the "Art and Culture" department in the diocese, Thomas Flammer, and with the help of the police and Interpol, the valuable reliquary was secured in time before being sold in the auction. It is still unclear when it will be returned.
Unknown people stole the reliquary in October 2017 during the opening hours of the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. During the evening, while the sexton was locking up, he realized that the chapel had been robbed. There were no video cameras. The container in the shape of an arm and a hand presumably contains bone remains of St. Peter Canisius (1521-1597), who is closely connected to the Lower Rhine pilgrimage site of Mary: the Canisian order was founded in 1854 by the later Münster bishop Johann Bernhard Brinkmann (1813-1889) in the Kevelaer priest house.
Source: Katholisch.de
Photo: Katholisch.de/Twitter