Suspect with 'desire to destroy' crushes, burns relic of Saint Nicholas at French Basilica

Basilica of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port Screenshot/YouTubeReading modeReadingAaPaperAaSepiaAaNightWith just under two months to go until Christmas, the bones of the saint who inspired Santa Claus have been stolen from a basilica in France, with the suspect allegedly burning and crushing them.The incident took place at the Basilica of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port in northeast France on November 2. Priests at the basilica reported that a reliquary containing bone fragments attributed to Saint Nicholas had been stolen.Per the Daily Mail, police arrested a suspect, who reportedly admitted to doing the act out of a “desire to destroy” the relic, claiming he viewed the devotion to the bones as a form of idol worship. The suspect has not been named.Priests with the Saint Nicholas in Lorraine Parish said, “The police investigation made it possible to identify and arrest the perpetrator.

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