Relic of St. Nicholas of Myra Stolen and Destroyed at French Basilica

SAINT-NICOLAS-DE-PORT, FRANCE — A relic containing bone fragments attributed to St. Nicholas of Myra was stolen from the Basilica of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port in northeastern France and subsequently burned and crushed by the suspected thief, according to French media reports. The desecration was reported to police on November 2 by the basilica’s parish priest.

Police arrested a suspect at his home following an investigation. During questioning, the man reportedly admitted smashing the protective display case and taking the reliquary. He said he acted spontaneously, motivated by a “desire to destroy” the relic.

A regional heritage organization, the Association Connaissance et Renaissance de la Basilique, clarified that the destroyed relic was not the basilica’s principal relic, traditionally identified as a bone fragment from the saint’s right hand and preserved in an arm-shaped reliquary. The stolen fragment had instead been placed beneath a statue of St. Nicholas in the patronal chapel during the early 2000s.

The relic's journey from the Orthodox East to the Catholic West began in 1087, when sailors from the Italian city of Bari took the principal remains of St. Nicholas from his tomb in Myra, in what is now Turkey. The sailors transported the remains to Bari, where they were placed in what is now the Basilica of St. Nicholas.

The desecration comes weeks before the December 6 feast of St. Nicholas.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Radu Vodă Monastery began its annual St. Nektarios pilgrimage.