Tournai Cathedral: The Theft Of A Cross

The main sight in Tournai is the Cathedral. At least from the oustide. It has five spires, but unlike the cathedral in Bonn, the five spires are all next to each other and are all unique. They look harmonious though and from a large distance they look like they are all lined up next to each other (whereas in reality you have a middle one, surrounded by four smaller ones on each corner). So yes, it's a spectacular cathedral, but the interior sucks. It's an archeological site at the moment. The transept is just a hole in the ground. They have found some tombes and graves and are trying to escavate them. But the cathedral is built on the site of several other places of worship and that makes the digging up a tiny bit more difficult than in other circumstances. I'm sure it's excellent study material for students archeology, but if you're a tourist it's a nuisance.

The cathedral is famed for a famous Byzanthium cross, covered with gold and colourful diamonds. It's in all the brochures. It's basically a symbol of the city and it's taken out once a year on a procession through the city. I had to see this shiny piece of bling bling!

But as I'm looking around, I find the treasury closed off for visitors. Too late, I think and continue walking around the church. Until I meet a young guy who's sitting at a very basic information desk. I ask him about the cross and he looks as if I'm a reporter. "No comments", he says, which leaves me a bit baffled. I introduce myself and ask what the problem is and the guy gets all nervous and brings me to his superior. "This gentleman wants to know what happened with the cross." I feel like I'm getting myself into a Da Vinci Code mystery thriller. The superior takes me into the treasury room and secretly tells me about the theft of the Cross. Apparently, on February 18, three masked men stole the famous cross and twelve other relics on broad daylight. They were armed and beat up a church clerk and an American tourist who tried to intervene. This happened at 10 am in the morning and the police believe the men had been hiding in the church for more than an hour before they executed their plan. They were masked, wore whigs and had dressed up as well. Two men in the church, one man ready in his car outside of the cathedral. Nobody heard them enter the church, nobody ever found a trace.

I love the story and hear the woman out. She confides in me and just talks and talks. I tell her I'm a tourguide and I think it's a great story to tell my passengers if I ever visit Tournai with them. And then she realises she's talking to the wrong person. As she pushes me gently out of the treasury we meet the man she was expecting. Some kind of writer/journalist named Paul. I think it's hilarious. There I am, unaware of this theft and being mistaken for a journalist.

So this is pretty spectacular drama, worthy of an international conspiracy movie. I'm thinking James Bond here. Even Indiana Jones. My imagination just runs wild. Three guys steal a gold/diamond cross on broad daylight. Why? Who's the collector? What is he going to do with it? WHat are his/her children going to do with it if the collector ever dies. Will they sell it on a flea market? It's so famous. They can't just go to people who know about these relics. Or were the gangster young people who will have the cross melt and get paid for it? Bye bye history! Man, all these questions after a single visit of a cathedral. I hear Hollywood. Not Wallonywood.