A cross that the late Pope Benedict XVI left for a parish in his native Bavaria, Germany, has been taken from the church where it had been displayed.
According to Associated Press, the cross was taken from a display case on the wall of the town church in Traunstein sometime between 11:45 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday, according to a statement from the Bavarian state criminal police.
It was stated that the cross was a pectoral cross, meaning it was worn on the chest. According to the police, money was also taken from the church’s magazine stand’s till.
“For the Catholic church, the value of the religious object is not quantifiable,” the police statement said.
It urged people to come forward if they may have observed strange people around the church on Monday or if they have any other information.
Benedict passed away on December 31—nearly ten years after he resigned as the first pope in six centuries.
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The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn, a tiny town in Bavaria; nevertheless, when Joseph was two years old, his father relocated the family to Traunstein. He attended a seminary there to pursue his priestly studies.