Franz Zehetner, archivist at Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral, got a big surprise when he opened a package destined for the building. In the box was a human skull along with a letter. The sender wanted to make amends and return what he had stolen decades before, says the BBC in an article published this Friday, October 31.
“We don’t expect it,” Franz Zehetner responded to the British newspaper.
In the text sent along with the skull, the author, a culprit and originally from northern Germany, says that he stole the human remains about sixty years ago.
Repentance when death approaches
He then took part in a guided tour of the catacombs located beneath the Saint-Étienne cathedral, which hold the remains of some 11,000 people, most of whom were buried in the 18th century. However, we do not know who exactly was the owner of the skull stolen by the indelicate tourist.
In the letter, the late repentant thief explained that he wanted to return the skull to make peace with himself in the twilight of his life.
“It was moving to see that someone wanted to make amends for an act of youthful exuberance,” praised Franz Zehetner to the BBC.
“The fact that he carefully preserved the skull for all these years instead of getting rid of it was also touching, even if it wasn’t legal,” he adds.
Source: BFM TV
