Stolen 6 years ago, heart of Dublin's patron saint returned

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Six years ago, there was a robbery at a cathedral in Dublin. The 800-year-old heart of patron saint Laurence O'Toole was stolen and thought lost for good — that is, until now.

Recently, police found the relic and it was formally returned to Christ Church Cathedral during a ceremony Thursday evening.

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As It Happens host Carol Off spoke to the cathedral's dean, Dermot Dunne, about the long lost heart and what it means to have it back. Here is part of their conversation.

Dean Dunne, first of all, what does it mean to you and the cathedral to have this heart back?

Words can't really describe the emotion that is felt by the heart being back at the cathedral. We're overjoyed. For six years, I was always conscious that the heart was taken during my watch as dean of the cathedral.

I was worrying that I was going to leave the cathedral with that mark — that a precious item had gone from the cathedral. The fact that it is back is so wonderful and especially while I am still dean of the cathedral. It feels so right for me.

Where did police find the relic?

They never told me where they found it. They just said that they had found it in a field, buried in a field, somewhere around Dublin. But it was reported on our national news that it was found in our local city park, the Phoenix Park, which is quite a large park in the centre of Dublin.

Why would someone want to steal this relic?

I was expecting that people were going to look for a ransom. From an economic point of view, it's worthless. But some criminal might think that maybe the church would pay money to have it back. But we never got a direct request.

Can you tell us about the heart itself?

The heart itself is enclosed in a metal heart-shaped chamber. It's encased in a metal cage. Now, the story of the heart is Laurence O'Toole, who died, I think it was 1160 he died, on his way to Rome. He died in a place called Eu, in Northern France. He was buried there but they took his heart and brought it back to Dublin, his beloved Dublin.

It was placed in the cathedral, which he built himself, as the second Archbishop of Dublin. It has been there for the last 800 years.

Until these people broke in and stole it.

Yes. And that was quite devastating at the time. I was heartbroken when I realized that it had gone.

Now, a bit more about the saint himself. Is he associated with miracles? He was canonized very shortly after he died. Wasn't he?

He was canonized in 1225 by Pope Honorius II. Miracles would have been attributed to him. He wouldn't have been canonized unless he passed that test.

Why it's significant to us is that we are a Reformed church, the Anglican church, but this is a Pre-Reformation relic that was attached to a Pre-Reformation cathedral.

What this relic does is it unites traditions in Dublin, all traditions in Dublin, because it is linked back to Pre-Reformation. And he being the second Archbishop of Dublin, he really set fire to Christianity in Dublin. Building the cathedral was building a solid heart of Christianity in Dublin — that's why it's so significant.

So significant to have his heart at the heart of it.

Yes. And we call ourselves, as a cathedral, the spiritual heart of Dublin.

Well, it sounds like another miracle has happened now that you got it back?

I'm amazed. Even though I kept up hope all the time, I am really amazed that it is back. It is just incredible that after six years it should be returned.

Written by Katie Geleff and John McGill. Interview produced by Katie Geleff. Q&A edited for length and clarity.