Pope Benedict XVI bequeathed a pectoral cross to St. Oswald’s Church in the city of Traunstein in Bavaria after his retirement in 2013. The cross was stolen June 19, 2023, from the church.

BERLIN: A cross bequeathed by the late pope Benedict 16th to a parish in his home region of Bavaria in southern Germany has been stolen from the church where it was exhibited, police said on Tuesday.

Benedict, who turns 85 on April 16, didn’t carry the cross during the hourlong procession ... Benedict’s next public ceremony is an Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica this evening.

According to police, the pectoral cross was in a case in the wall of St. Oswald’s church in Traunstein, in the state of Bavaria, where the late Benedict spent his adolescent years. Thieves broke ...