The artefact contains two lead vials that are thought by Catholics to contain drops of Jesus’s blood, collected in the Holy Grail from his wounds. Source: Arthur Brand, Twitter.
A 2,000 year-old golden shrine that is said to contain the blood of Jesus Christ was recovered by Arthur Brand, known as the “Dutch Indiana Jones”.
One of the most sacred relics of the Catholic Church, was taken from Fécamp Abbey Church in Normandy, France where it has been for a thousand years.
They have since been anonymously handed to Arthur Brand, who is well-known for recovering stolen art.
The artefact contains two lead vials that are thought by Catholics to contain drops of Jesus’s blood, collected from his wounds at his crucifixion.
The “Precious Blood of Christ” relics that have been visited by pilgrims for 1,000 years, were stolen in June, less than a couple of weeks before the annual “Mass of the Sacred Blood” celebration.
Dutch art detective, Arthur Brand, was anonymously contacted by email by someone who said the relics had been stored at the home of a friend of the thief.
The friend realised what this was, then passed it on to the person who emailed Mr Brand, who suggested they leave it on his doorstep and ring the doorbell.
“A couple of days later, at 10:30 in the evening, the doorbell rang,” Mr Brand said to the BBC.
“I looked from my balcony outside and in the dark I saw a box. I ran down the stairs, afraid that someone would take the box. Outside I looked around, but there was no-one there.”
Arthur Brand is widely known for his ability to track and recover stolen art and artefacts.
He has recovered over 200 works of arts, and this one was special for him to behold.
“As a Catholic, this is about as close to Jesus and the Holy Grail legend as you can get,” he said.
He said that only seven to eight per cent of stolen art is returned and much of it will get destroyed.
The relics will be returned to the abbey at Fécamp after they are handed to Dutch police.
