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