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Pope John Paul II's blood stolen from Italian church

Thieves have stolen the blood of Pope John Paul II, the Polish pontiff who led the Catholic Church for 27 years, from a church in Italy, Reuters reports.

A spokeswomen for the remote San Pietro della Ienca church east of Rome said it was broken into over the weekend and a reliquary with the Pope's blood and a crucifix were missing.

Some of Pope John Paul's blood was saved after an assassination attempt in 1981 Credit: Reuters

Dozens of police with sniffer dogs have reportedly scoured the area for clues to help their investigation.

Italian Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana has called it "a sacrilegious theft that was probably commissioned by someone".

Nothing else was stolen and Franca Corrieri, who helps looks after the church, said thieves probably would have had time to take other objects during the night-time theft.