The relics of St. Martin were stolen from a Catholic church in Germany

On the night of July 30, 2026, a daring robbery took place in the German town of Neuss-Holzheim: unknown perpetrators broke into St. Martin’s Catholic Church and stole the relics of the church’s patron saint. The criminals entered the building through a side entrance after breaking a window near the altar. This was reported by katholisch.de.

In addition to the relic, the perpetrators took a prayer book, which was later found abandoned under a car several blocks from the scene of the crime. Notably, traces of blood were found at the crime scene, leading law enforcement to believe that one of the attackers sustained injuries during the break-in.

Parish priest Andreas Süss expressed deep sorrow over the incident, emphasizing that the theft of the relics represents a serious spiritual loss for the church community. The priest noted the criminals’ complete lack of respect for the sacred relic and announced plans to re-consecrate the altar, as well as to consider strengthening security measures at the church. It is worth noting that this is not the first such incident at this parish: in 2023, the church was already attacked, resulting in the theft of sacred objects, which were later found on the roof of a garage in a neighboring town.

As a reminder, we previously reported that a brazen robbery took place at the basilica in the Czech town of Jabloně v Podještědí , resulting in the theft of a unique 13th-century relic—the remains of Saint Zdislava. The relic possesses immeasurable historical and cultural value, comparable in significance to the remains of the Czech kings.