From the Perth Sunday Times:

Hitler dispatched aides to swipe the sacred relic - believed to have been used to wrap the dead body of Christ - after visiting Italy in 1938.

Vatican officials had it moved south from Turin to the Montevergine monastery in the country's Campania region, but the Fuhrer's henchmen eventually stumbled across the shroud's hiding place.

However they were unable to find it because of a group of brave monks who surrounded the altar in which the artifact was stashed and pretended to pray, Italian news agency ANSA reported today.

Their quick-thinking meant Hitler - who historians say was obsessed with religious symbols and the occult - was never able to get his hands on the linen relic, which has captivated the minds of worshipers and skeptics alike for more than 500 years.

Here's the whole thing.