The theft, desecration and attempted destruction of a popular medieval Czech Republic saint has shocked society in the highly secular Slavic nation.
On the evening of May 12, a man wearing dark clothing entered the Basilica of St. Lawrence and St. Zdislava in the Czech Republic town of Jablonné v Podještěd, allegedly broke the glass of a reliquary near the altar containing relics of 13th-century St. Zdislava, and ran away with her skull.
The suspect was arrested two days later and confessed to the crime, according to police, who said he had opposed the skull’s display and had intended to throw it into the river. The man had cast the skull in concrete, and conservationists are now trying to extract it, police also said.
Prague Archbishop Stanislav Přibyl, who also serves as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Litoměřice where the theft took place, called the act “a really serious matter” and “an intrusion on the sacred.”
The thief “may be beset by some curse” or “misfortune,” as “this is not a threat; this is reality; it happens,” Archbishop Přibyl told reporters.
“I was surprised and hurt,” Olomouc Archbishop Josef Nuzík, president of the Czech Bishops’ Conference (ČBK), reacted, saying the sacrilege “is not only about respect for the dead, but also about cultural and historical values and the memory of a saint who means so much to our nation.”
Former prime minister Petr Fiala said he was “shocked.” In 2024, as prime minister, Fiala visited the minor basilica where Zdislava’s relics are venerated, praising the saint, saying that “she always took one more step than what we would consider normal.”
Now, St. Zdislava has become visible thanks to “unprecedented interest from the media and the general public,” said Father Radek Jurnečka, the delegate ad omnia of the Diocese of Litoměřice, in a statement sent to the Register.
People have been reminded of her life and her importance to the region, which will “bring this saint closer to people,” he added, recalling the invitation of the archbishop of Prague for the faithful to attend feast-day events for Zdislava on May 30 to pray for “forgiveness” regarding the sacrilege and “the spiritual renewal of the diocese.”
Basilica of St. Lawrence and St. Zdislava in the Czech Republic town of Jablonné v Podještěd(Photo: Courtesy of the Diocese of Litoměřice)
‘Lady of Holy Life’
St. Zdislava (c. 1220-1252) was born in the Czech kingdom in what is now the Czech Republic. She was a noble woman, mother of four children and a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic. Zdislava was famous for her kindness and service to the needy and sick. Along with her husband, Havel of Lemberk, she reportedly established a church, a monastery and a hospital. Owing to her tireless service and ascetic life, she died young.
The Czech saint was “a perfect mother,” “a role model of active Christianity” and “a guarantor of charity and healthcare of the region,” said historian Jan Rucz, author of a book about her, who partly credits St. Zdislava for his conversion to Catholicism and healing.
Painting of St. Zdislava(Photo: Courtesy of the Diocese of Litoměřice)
Though the cult and legends about her quickly spread, there were facts behind those stories, as “when she died, she was revered as a saint, a unique person who stood out in the region … a celebrity,” Rucz shared in a 2025 interview with the diocesan publication Zdislava.
“For the love she showed both to her family and to the poor and the sick, and for the miracles that are attested to her not only by legends but also by chronicles, she was called the Lady of Holy Life already in her time,” reads her biography on the website of the Czech Dominican Province.
In the 18th century, a new church was built above her grave; it was promoted to a minor basilica 30 years ago. She was canonized in 1995 by Pope John Paul II.
In addition to being the patron saint of the Litoměřice Diocese, she is also patron of the local Liberec Region, the Czech Dominican Province and of families.
The main street of Jablonné v Podještědí, which lies at the intersection of the Czech, German and Polish borders, bears her name, while her statue stands in the main square. The Dominicans in the local monastery run the basilica and the St. Zdislava’s Center for Families.
Security Concerns
The alarm protecting the reliquary of St. Zdislava had been turned off ahead of Mass, and the thief broke in just before the Mass started. Dominican Pavel Maria Mayer, rector of the basilica, said that the security issue could be addressed within his community. He did not want to comment further, due to the ongoing investigation, when the Register reached out to him.
It has been decades since a comparable theft has taken place in the country. The security of religious sites and relics does not seem to be heightened, as it has not been discussed at recent meetings of the Czech episcopate. The Catholic Church does not have a manual on safeguarding its sacred sites.
“Each diocese or parish operates independently in this regard,” the press office of the ČBK confirmed to the Register. “Cooperation with the state in the case of monuments” part of the national heritage is in place, but it is in the purview of the local Catholic entity, “to dioceses or parishes,” the Czech episcopate stated.
Each parish is responsible for supervision and daily maintenance, but it can count on diocesan “methodological support and coordination, especially for highly valuable objects and monuments,” the press office of the Archdiocese of Olomouc told the Register.
There is active collaboration with police and regional and state offices so “we have a clear overview of the security of the monuments and relics, mainly the most important,” the diocese said.
“Security systems in churches are usually connected directly to the police” so any needed response comes “as quickly as possible,” the press office of the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava told the Register.
A security officer deals with cultural heritage authorities and police assistance to parishes, “so we have an overview of the protection of monuments,” the diocese confirmed.
Notwithstanding the recent theft, the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava believes that “the era of church robberies is a thing of the past,” clarifying that it does not possess a relic of similar symbolic value as St. Zdislava’s.
Damage to the Relic
Since she lived in the 13th century and is one of only a few Czech saints, Zdislava’s relic has historical, spiritual and symbolical value.
Historian Michaela Falátková of the Catholic faculty of theology of Charles University in Prague described its casting in concrete as damaging and “a very problematic intervention in human remains, which should be treated with respect and dignity.”
The relic is “part of a still living and deeply rooted regional tradition for centuries” and “the cultural memory,” Falátková, head of the Department of Ecclesiastical History and Literary History, explained to the Register.
“The perpetrator undoubtedly deeply affected the believers and the local community.”