Czech police recover stolen 800-year-old skull of medieval saint

An 800-year-old skull snatched this week from a Czech church has been found encased in concrete, police said, and experts are now working to extract the relic, revered as the skull of Saint Zdislava.

16 May 2026 at 07:18:18

Czech police recover stolen 800-year-old skull of medieval saint

FILE PHOTO: A handout image released on May 13, 2026, shows a picture of an 800-year-old skull, believed to be that of Saint Zdislava of Lemberk, in Jablonne v Podjestedi, Czech Republic. An unknown thief stole the skull from a display box in a church in the northern Czech Republic, police said on Wednesday.

Police of the Czech Republic/Handout via Reuters

PRAGUE - An 800-year-old skull snatched this week from a Czech church has been found encased in concrete, police said, and experts are now working to extract the relic, revered as the skull of Saint Zdislava.

Czech police detained a 35-year-old man on Thursday, who admitted to the theft from the Saint Lawrence and Saint Zdislava basilica in the northern village of Jablonne v Podjestedi.

His motive was that he disagreed with displaying the relic in the church and wanted to bury it privately in a river, said Petr Rajt, police director in the northern region.

The man faces up to eight years in jail if convicted of theft.

Saint Zdislava of Lemberk lived from 1220 to 1252 and ‌was ⁠known for her generosity and work for the poor. She was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

-Reporting by Jan LopatkaEditing by Alexandra Hudson/Reuters