Churchgoers are upset after their Baby Jesus statue was stolen from the nativity scene in Renfrew, Ont., over the weekend.
The statue was stolen from the outdoor nativity scene at Low Square in front of city hall in the town located west of Ottawa. Organizers for the group, who spent two months building the wood stable facade, were disappointed.
“I think it might be a little case of vandalism,” Diana Wakely, MC for the Renfrew’s Put Christ Back in Christmas Committee, told CTV Ottawa.
Ontario Provincial Police said the four-kilogram, 45-centimetre fibreglass-papier-mache figurine had likely been stolen during the Renfrew Santa Claus Parade or later Saturday night. The lighting ceremony that night marked the first Sunday of Advent, with 80 people gathered to sing Christmas carols.
For the past two decades, Renfrew’s “Put Christ Back in Christmas Committee” has been setting up the scene and, this year, it was built by over 100 people.
This isn’t the first time someone has stolen the figure from the nativity scene. A resident took it to some New Year’s Eve parties three years ago, before they were forced to return it.
“Somebody thought it’d be a good thing to take Jesus to a couple New Year’s Eve parties but he (the thief) was found out by police pretty fast,” Wakely said. “He apologized and sent a letter to apologize for what he had done.”
The Put Christ Back in Christmas Committee is urging that whoever stole the Baby Jesus return it to the nativity scene in time for Christmas.
Renfrew OPP is asking anyone with information call them at 1-888-310-1122 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477. Tipsters can also contact them through valleytips.ca.
