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Pope Innocent XI in 1679 ordered a book written by a Spanish Jesuit to be destroyed, but it turns out his orders were disobeyed: The 336-year-old tome has turned up in a British store.

The decrepit copy of “Varia Opuscula Theologica” (“Various Theological Brochures”) by Doctoris Francisco Suarez, written in Latin, contains a stamp that indicates it was once held in a Rome library, Caters News Agency reported.

Caters News AgencyCaters News Agency

The book — priced at $740 on rare books website Abe Books — was donated to the Oxfam Bookshop in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

“All of the Suarez books were burned, but this obviously survived,” said store manager Tom Cotton. “It is in Latin and is very obscure. It looks like it came from one of the famous Catholic colleges in Rome.”

Cotton said he needed help to track down the book’s origins.

“We had to get an old volunteer back who was used to dealing with antiquarian books and could look at the value and come up with a description for it,” he said. “He is very good at being a detective for books.”

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