Someone is definitely going to hell for stealing a holy relic from St. Dominic's Church at Bush and Steiner in the Western Addition. The purloined property was an ancient artifact that religious leaders consider to be a piece of Christ's crucifix. This is some Da Vinci Code-level stuff right here.

St. Dominic's officials wrote yesterday that the "true cross" was stolen on Thursday. "While there is no monetary value there is great spiritual value to those in our parish who come to visit and place their sufferings at the foot of the Cross. We pray that it is returned and for the individual(s) involved."

Father Michael Hurley of the church expressed his disappointment to to ABC 7. "For it to be stolen in this kind of very deliberate way is certainly both upsetting and very saddening," he said. "We're hoping that the thief will have a change of heart and perhaps we can discover it again and restore this important relic to our church."

Before the theft, Hurley wrote on the church's website to explain the relic. "Through generous benefaction, we have a sliver of a fragment in our own St. Dominic’s displayed under glass at the foot of the Pieta statue in the south transept... this relic is a treasured place of prayer that has brought consolation to those who are weighed down by the crosses of their lives. The well-worn kneeler, which was recently refurbished, stands as a testament to the intercessory power of the True Cross."

Some churchgoers, like Suzanne Avila, find themselves devastated. "It's like a piece of our little heart has been pulled out and that little heartbeat is gone and we need to get it back," she told the news station.

Seizing the holy high ground, another member of St. Dominic's church, Lourdes Paredes, expressed sympathy for the thief or thieves. "For somebody to do it, it's like they must be out of their mind, and I'm really sorry for them... I pray for them." Indeed, that would be St. Dominic's way. The patron saint of all religious leaders was marked for his compassion for sinners, weeping away the nights that God might have mercy on them.