'Drugs' Handed Over To Cops Turned Out To Be The Relics Of Saint Raphael

YONKERS, NY — The relics of a saint were saved from destruction after a misunderstanding saw the holy relics initially thought to be illegal drugs turned over to the police.

Last week, Officer Rotondo and his partner K9 Furby were approached by members of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary on Scarsdale Road, according to the Yonkers Police Department. The members turned over what they thought to be illicit substances left on their property by trespassers.

The officer took the mystery substances and prepared to clerk the property for disposal, as is standard procedure.

However, police later got a panicked call from the seminary after they realized that the substances they turned over were actually relics of St. Raphael of Brooklyn, a 19th century Bishop of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The dispatcher contacted Officer Rotondo, who quickly returned the relics to Fr. Michael Nasser.

Fr. Nasser didn't immediately know he had lost the relics when they fell out of a hole in the bag he was carrying them in. Others at the seminary, who didn’t know what they were, made an unfortunate assumption that had a happy ending.

On Tuesday, the YPD K9 Unit along with Commissioner Sapienza, Assistant Chief Carozza, Captain Messar, and Lieutenant Curtis were invited to St. Vladimir's Seminary for a blessing as a thank you, led by Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie and Fr. Michael Nasser, alongside Seminarian Luke Anderson, who helped coordinate the return of the relics, YPD said in a social media post recounting the tale of loss and redemption.