The only surviving piece of bone thought to belong to St John Henry Newman has been stolen from the Birmingham Oratory.
The Oratory announced the theft in its weekly newsletter on Sunday, saying the bone fragment had been taken from its casket in the Newman Shrine. The fathers appealed for anyone who had seen any suspicious activity to come forward.
Newman was buried in a cemetery in Rednal, outside Birmingham, in 1890. His grave was excavated in October 2008, but other than the small fragment of bone, no physical remains were found save for brass coffin handles and an inscription plate.
