Fragments of the brain of popular Salesian saint have been discovered hidden inside a copper kettle in the kitchen of a man who told investigators he hoped to make a profit from selling its glass case.

A reliquary containing the piece of the brain of the late 19th century founder of the Salesian order St. John Bosco was stolen from a small room behind the main altar in the basilica of Castelnuova, near Turin, on June 3, sometime after a visit by a group of pilgrims, and before church was locked up for the evening.

Detectives investigating the crime scene found fingerprints on the back of the altar as well as shoe prints around the glass case where the relic was housed and submitted them to the national Carabinieri forensics lab in Parma, where digital fingerprint identification technology found a match with a 42-year-old man with a prior criminal history living in Pinerolo, north of Turin.

Detectives followed the man for days before raiding his home and discovering the relic – its wax seal still unbroken - hidden inside a copper kettle in one of the kitchen cabinets.

The man, who confessed, told investigators he thought the reliquary was made of gold and could be sold for profit. St. John Bosco was known for his tireless efforts to help young disadvantaged men reform their lives and his motto, which is that of the Salesians, was “Da mihi animas, caetera tolle,” which means “Give me souls, take everything else away.”