Outrage as bone belonging to one of New Testament Bible's most famous figures is stolen from Utah church

A Salt Lake City Diocese is begging for a relic that belonged to one of the most famous New Testament figures to be returned after it was stolen. 

A bone fragment smaller than a fingernail belonging to Mary Magdalene was stolen from the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City on July 10. 

'The relic, I believe, is not recoverable. It is lost,' Father Martin Diaz told DailyMail.com Wednesday. 'We have looked around the neighborhood and in neighboring garbage bins to no success.'

'We have a fairly good idea who took the relic, and I don't believe he even remembers he was here,' he said in a press release. 

Cathedral staff discovered the relic was missing after finding the reliquary - the box that holds the special item - was shattered on the ground. 

'The best understanding is that the person who took the relic once outside realized it was not worth anything so discarded it in a garbage bin or onto the grass,' Diaz told DailyMail.com.  

A bone fragment smaller than a fingernail belonging to Mary Magdalene was stolen from the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City on July 10

Cathedral staff discovered the relic was missing after finding the reliquary - the box that holds the special item - was shattered on the ground

The religious institution contacted police and is currently offering a $1,000 reward for information regarding the missing item. 

The church has owned the relic since 1918, and it is woven into a red cloth that is imprinted with a fleur-de-lis pattern that was glued onto cardboard and placed inside a bronze and glass reliquary, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. 

The reliquary usually takes 'two people to move,' and Diaz says the precious item has 'no monetary value whatsoever.' 

'In that sense, it's both worthless and priceless at the same time,' he told ABC 4. 'For us, there is no price and it just breaks your heart to have something that is so precious to the community just, in a sense, desecrated.'

Mary Magdalene is a figure from the New Testament of the Bible and one of Jesus' most well-known followers

Although Diaz doesn't believe the person had 'any knowledge' of 'what they were doing,' he said the missing relic has caused 'such hurt and pain in the community.' 

The diocese's second bishop, Joseph Glass, brought the relic back from France in 1918, alongside a second relic that is from Christ's cross. 

But it's more than just Diaz who misses the special relic, Cristina Rosetti, a religious studies expert, told The Tribune she was 'devastated' to hear the news and that it created a 'wound' for the church. 

The Salt Lake institution is the only cathedral in the country that is named after the devoted follower of Jesus

Although Diaz said the church could 'get another relic in Rome,' he admitted that it wouldn't be from Magdalene, as those are rare to come across. 

'We are losing a connection to Bishop Glass, to our precious history,' he said. 

'The next step is to request a relic of Saint Mary Magdalene from the Vatican office for relics,' he told DailyMail.com.  

The Salt Lake institution is the only cathedral in the country that is named after the devoted follower of Jesus. 

Mary Magdalene is a figure from the New Testament of the Bible and one of Jesus' most well-known followers. 

Magdalene stayed with Jesus through the crucifixion and was present at his tomb. 

She was also the first person Jesus appeared after his resurrection.