On Monday August 12, 2013, the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was stolen, leaving residents scratching their heads as to the motives of the unknown culprits involved.
The statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was mounted on a stand in front of the rectory until it was reported to have gone missing. “I came to Mass on Sunday and it was still there. I woke up in the morning before Mass (on Tuesday) and the deacons told me it was stolen”, said Father Bennett, who has yet to hear of any evidence leading to its whereabouts.
Father Ben believes this crime had to have been committed by more than one or two people, as the statue would have been too heavy for one person to handle on their own.
While the crime obviously comes as a surprise to the community, this is not the first time someone has taken liberties and stolen a symbolic statue belonging to the church.
“I've learned that it's the second time we've lost a statue. The original statue was stolen too and this was the second time. We reported it to the police.”
Yet, while they're still holding out hope that the statue is found and returned, measures will have to be taken in the event a replacement is needed.
“We hope that it is returned but the very first statue was not returned so we will be starting to ask people if they would help buy another statue like this.”
“We have announced we are making arrangements to replace it”
Though the true intentions of those involved are unknown, their actions will have had far-reaching on many within the church. It is a statue which has meant a lot to the church and will be difficult to replace.