6. Don Bosco’s brain is a relic, and is so popular that it was stolen in 2017.
After rising from his humble, impoverished upbringing to become a priest, Don Bosco (1815-88) devoted his life to the pastoral care of young men who, like him, came from deprived households. As well as preaching to them, Bosco founded the Salesian Order, setting up training schemes so his young charges could go on to have remunerative careers as craftsmen. Running a home for 500 boys, and taking them on fun excursions to the countryside, a lot of people had a lot to thank Don Bosco for. Indeed, 40, 000 people visited his body when it lay in state.
An estimated 600, 000 people visit his relics every year near Turin. These relics, unbelievably, include part of his brain, but sadly there is little information on how, or why, it was removed and preserved. Either way, it’s been on display for decades, apart from when it was stolen in 2017. As millions prayed for its safe return, Italian police resorted to CSI to find the holy cerebellum, and between them they succeeded in recovering it. Carabinieri found the reliquary containing the brain-piece in a copper kettle in the thief’s kitchen. It hadn’t been opened, you’ll be relieved to hear.
