Someone has swiped a sacred cloth containing a drop of blood from former Pope John Paul II, who led the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005.

The relic was housed at the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, and had been there since 2013.

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Police reported the missing relic over the weekend after a visitor saw that the object was gone and told a church official, the German police said.

The relic had been displayed in a small glass container at the base of a statue of Pope John Paul II. The contained had been wrested from the base sometime Saturday night, the police said.

“Although the material value is low, the spiritual value is a lot bigger,” the cathedral’s provost, Gerd Bachner, said in a police statement, as reported by many news outlets, including The Guardian and Religion News Service.

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Whoever made off with the sacred relic has been advised to return it immediately.

Relics from saints are organized into three classes by the Catholic Church: first, second and third class.

“Body parts such as blood, bones or even ashes of a saint fall under the first category,” as reported by Crux, an independent Catholic news site. “Clothing worn by the saint, such as liturgical vestments, are considered second class, and personal possessions third.”