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ROME — Police are searching an Italian mountain area beloved by Pope John Paul II for a stolen relic bearing his blood.

Vatican Radio decried the “sacrilegious theft” from tiny San Pietro della Ienca church near the Gran Sasso part of the Apennine mountains, where John Paul used to hike and ski.

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The Telegraph speculated that a Satanic group could be behind the theft.

“It’s possible that there could be Satanic sects behind the theft of the reliquary,” said Giovanni Panunzio of the anti-occult group Osservatorio Antiplagio told the Telegraph.

“This period of the year is important in the Satanic calendar and culminates in the Satanic ‘new year’ on Feb 1. This sort of sacrilege often take place at this time of the year. We hope that the stolen items are recovered as quickly as possible,” Panunzio said.

Carabinieri paramilitary police Col. Andrea Ronchey in nearby L’Aquila told The Associated Press Monday that the relic — a bit of blood-soaked cloth kept inside a painted metal cross — was last seen on Thursday in the church.

The BBC reported that thieves ignored the collection box in the theft and that the relic was one of only three such artifacts in the world.

The thieves reportedly forced their way in through a window.

John Paul, who died in 2005 and will be made a saint April 27 during a Vatican ceremony, had celebrated Mass in the church.

Police are combing the area using sniffer dogs.