St Brigid relic was not in stolen shrine

A HOLY shrine that normally contains a relic of St Brigid has been stolen from a church as worshippers prepare for the patron saint’s feast day.

Thieves made off with the rare Celtic-designed reliquary that was screwed into the altar at St Brigid’s Church in Killester, Co Dublin, yesterday.

Believed to be worth €10,000, the distinctive press housed a small piece of St Brigid’s skull brought back to Ireland from Portugal in 1929.

But parish officials had only removed the relic, which is fixed to a cruciform, in recent weeks as the ornate container underwent renovations at the Howth Road church.

The theft is thought to have occurred between noon and 3pm on Monday.

It follows the robbery in Co Tipperary last October of another ancient relic, believed to be from the cross on which Jesus was crucified.

That priceless artefact was returned to Holycross Abbey, earlier this month.

Killester parish priest Monsignor Alex Stenson said it was unclear if the latest theft was targeting the relics of St Brigid, one of Ireland’s three patron saints.

“We could speculate until the cows come home but I really do not know.”

Fr Stenson said parish officials decided not to put the relic back into the container but instead kept it in a safe as it was needed for the St Brigid celebrations today.

He said there would be no special prayers for the return of the reliquary but hoped it would turn up. “We’ll be happy enough with celebrating the feast of St Brigid and blessing people who wish to be with the relic.”

Fr Stenson added they would be reviewing security measures in the parish.

The reliquary, which had been in the church for more than 50 years, is believed to have been stolen while the building was open to the public.

The relic of St Brigid was gifted to Killester in 1928.

Three Irish knights brought the saint’s carefully preserved skull to Portugal, during the Crusades in the 1200s, where it was placed in a church at Lumiar, outside Lisbon, and where it remains.

The cardinal of Lisbon gave a small portion of the relic to Killester when it was decided to dedicate the local church to the saint.