The Daily Telegraph

Piece of Don Bosco’s brain found in thief ’s kettle

- By Andrea Vogt in Bologna

FRAGMENTS of the brain of St John Bosco have been discovered hidden inside a copper kettle in the kitchen of a man who told investigat­ors he hoped to make a profit from selling its glass case.

The relic of the late 19th century founder of the Salesian order, known as Don Bosco, was stolen from a room in the basilica of Castelnuov­a, near Turin, on June 3, after a visit by pilgrims and before the church was shut for the day.

Detectives found fingerprin­ts on the back of the altar as well as shoe prints around the glass case where the relic was housed and submitted them to the Carabinier­i forensics lab in Parma. A match was found with a 42-year-old man with a prior criminal history living in Pinerolo, north of Turin. Police raided his home and discovered the relic – its wax seal unbroken – inside a copper kettle in a kitchen cabinet. The man told investigat­ors he thought the reliquary was made of gold.

Enrico Stasi, the Salesian inspector for Piedmont, praised the Carabinier­i, saying the case had “huge resonance with people that we did not expect”.

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