Thieves suspected of stealing a revered piece of bone of St. Mary Magdalene from the Basilica of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, according to a press release.

Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City Announced The relics of St. Mary Magdalene were stolen in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after cathedral staff discovered the theft at about 7 a.m. when they found the reliquary, or protective case, broken and dumped on the floor beneath the sanctuary's cross. according to to Intermountain Catholic.

Relics of St. Mary Magdalene were stolen from the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City.

A reward is being offered for its return or for information leading to its return.https://t.co/V2ovnc0KcB

— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) July 13, 2024

Father Martin Diaz, the cathedral's rector, claimed this was not just vandalism, but targeted theft. “This person was looking for something worth selling,” Diaz said, according to Intermountain Catholic. “He probably picked up a reliquary, but after he took it off the shelf, it was so heavy that he couldn't support it. He pried the box open and took only what he thought was salable.” (Related article: Archaeologists discover ancient artifacts that may be linked to Moses and the Ten Commandments)

The stolen relic reportedly holds great spiritual significance to the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City as a tangible connection to Mary Magdalene, the patron saint of Catholics in Utah. The Diocese of Salt Lake City said in a news release that the relic was originally brought to Salt Lake City by Bishop Joseph S. Glass in 1918 and kept in the cathedral for more than a century. The relic is traditionally displayed for veneration each year on Easter Sunday and on July 22, the feast day of Mary Magdalene.

According to Intermountain Catholic, the Diocese of Salt Lake City is working with the Salt Lake City Police Department to actively pursue leads to recovering the stolen relics, and has offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the return of the relics or the arrest of the perpetrators.

Diaz stressed that the relics are objects of veneration, but not veneration. “They are physical reminders of the women and men who lived generous and charitable lives for God and others, and, of course, our religious lives and service to the community continue,” Diaz said in a news release.

“For us, it's of course a connection to St. Mary Magdalene, who walked with Jesus and was the first to announce the resurrection. It's a religious connection. It's a connection to 2,000 years of Christianity,” Diaz said. Said KSL News Radio.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the remains is asked to contact Diaz directly at (602) 318-5555.