THRISSUR: Thieves broke into the historic Mapranam Holy Cross shrine church near Irinjalakkuda in the district in the wee hours of Tuesday and stole three 'tiruseshippukal' (holy relics related to the death of Jesus Christ) brought from the Vatican and placed in the church in the 18th century.
According to the local police, the thieves entered the church by breaking open the locks of the front door of the wooden stairs on the second floor.
A police team comprising Irinjalakkuda ASP Vimaladitya, CI Sony Ummer Koshy and SI Premanandakrishnan and forensic experts visited the spot.
Mapranam church is the only place of worship in the country which had three holy relics.
It is perhaps for the first time in the history of the world that a religious sanctum has combined and practised the cultural, spiritual and ethical values of different religions, especially Christianity, Hinduism and Islam.