They are only small pieces of cloth, but to devout Catholics they mean everything.
Two relics that belonged to saints of the Fatima apparition were stolen from a church in Verona, Italy, while they were being taken around the country for veneration.
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Fr. Andrea Ronconi, who is the priest at the Jesus Christ Divine Worker parish in Verona, told the Associated Press on Thursday that small pieces of clothing belonging to the Portuguese shepherd children made saints in 2017 were stolen on Wednesday.
Ronconi said he was “heartbroken and mortified” by the loss. The theft also included copies of a crown and rosary of the Fatima Virgin Mary statue.
The articles of clothing belonged to Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who had several visions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima in 1917. They were canonized on May 13, 2017.
Police are looking for two suspects.
