By Aaron Earls
After 90 years, Jesus has returned.
A statue of baby Jesus that was stolen from Our Lady of Grace Church in Hoboken, New Jersey, in the 1930s was recently mailed back to the church.
Because the package seemed suspicious, church leaders called police.
“Some red flags went up because it didn’t have a name—just the church, no return address,” Rev. Alex Santora told WPIX.
The Hoboken Police Department scanned the package with a heat detection devise and determined it was safe. Still, the police officer opening the box did so “gingerly,” according to Santora.
There was no bomb inside, but it did contain a surprise—a baby Jesus statue with a note.
A letter dated January 2, 2018 explained why the statue had been missing all these years.
My Mom told me that the Baby Jesus had been stolen from the church Nativity display at Our Lady of Grace when she was a young girl of about twelve years of age in the early 1930’s. It came into her father’s possession somehow, and I don’t know why he didn’t return it. Instead, he gave it to my Mother after she was married, and she kept it until her passing when it came to me.
After all these years, the statue was in great condition, with “only a chip on the bottom,” said Santora.
Before opening the box, he was unaware the church was missing a statue.
He also didn’t know if any other pieces of that baby Jesus’ nativity scene were still at the church, but he did say their newly returned statue would be part of their Christmas display this year.
AARON EARLS (@WardrobeDoor) is online editor of Facts & Trends.
