04.03.2012
Dean Appeals for Relic’s Return
The Dean of Chirst Church Cathedral, Dublin, has appealed for the return of the preserved heart of St Laurence O’Toole, the patron saint of Dublin. The relic was stolen from the cathedral on Saturday morning.
The Very Reverend Dermot Dunne, said he was “devastated” by the theft. “It has no economic value but it is a priceless treasure that links our present foundation with its founding father, St Laurence O’Toole,” he stated.
The relic was kept in a wooden heart–shaped container sealed within a small iron–barred cage in St Laud’s chapel in the cathedral. The bars of the cage had been cut. The heart was last seen on Friday night and is believed to have been stolen sometime between Friday evening and 12.30 pm on Saturday.
The cathedral opened as usual at 9.30 am on Saturday. No alarm had sounded and there was no sign of a break–in.
Gardaí have been reviewing CCTV footage of people entering the cathedral. There were only about 40 visitors on Saturday morning but it is possible that the thieves had hidden themselves in the cathedral overnight.
Born Lorcán Ua Tuathail in Castledermot, Co Kildare in 1128 and known as Laurence O’Toole, he died November 1180 in Normandy, France. He was elected archbishop of Dublin following the death of Archbishop Gregory in 1162.
He was an ascetic who wore a hairshirt, never ate meat and fasted every Friday, Each Lent he returned to Glendalough, where he had previously been abbot. While there, he lived in St Kevin’s Cell, a cave over the Upper Lake, for 40 days.
He was canonised in 1225 by Pope Honorius III and his heart was preserved in Christ Church Cathedral since the 13th century.
His skull was brought back to Britain in 1442. His bones were interred at the parish church of Chorley, now called the Church of St Laurence. They disappeared in the Reformation under the rule of Henry VIII.