Parishioners from Liverpool church appeal for the return of baby Jesus statue

PARISHIONERS from a Liverpool church are at a loss to explain what happened to a statue of baby Jesus which went missing from a nativity scene days after Christmas.

Parishioner Bob Brassell is appealing for the return of baby Jesus, who was stolen from a nativity display at All Saints Catholic Church in Liverpool. Picture: Ian Svegovic

Parishioners from a Liverpool church are at a loss to explain what happened to a statue of baby Jesus missing from a nativity scene three days after the start of the Christmas season.

The statue of the Christ child belonged to a nativity scene set up by parishioners at All Saints Catholic Church in Liverpool just before Christmas.

But on December 28, just three days after it had been placed onto its crib, baby Jesus was missing.

A parishioner had visited the church that morning intending to pray before the nativity scene — located in a small alcove in the church — when she made the discovery.

The statue of baby Jesus.

The empty crib. Picture: Ian Svegovic

“She was so distressed. She was saying for all the children who were going to come during this season, there’ll be nobody for them. The Christ child has gone,” said Bob Brassell, a longtime parishioner at the church.

“Father Paul came and was just as amazed as everybody else, so he obviously rang people and asked if for any reason somebody had moved it. We were surprised, amazed and distressed,” Mr Brassell said.

The incident was reported to police within 20 minutes.

The 80-year-old has been attached to the church since 1962. He has been part of efforts to recover the statue, which was worth an estimated $1000.

The statue was stolen three days after the start of the Christmas season. Picture: Ian Svegovic

The whole nativity scene set, which includes statues of Mary, Joseph, an ox and a donkey, was purchased just last year at a cost of $10,000.

The scene is traditionally on display between the start of the Christmas season, December 25, and January 6.

The church will be putting up ‘wanted’ posters around the Liverpool CBD in the hope that the statue will be returned.

Besides the monetary value of baby Jesus, the statue has a deep symbolic meaning to believers.

“We believe this is the commencement of our Christian faith because this is the birth of Jesus and establishes everything we believe in,” Mr Brassell said.

“We say it’s an act of vandalism, really, and desecration that they would think they could come into a church and take something that is so precious to us.

“Our faith revolves around Jesus, so for someone to take that we’re quite distressed really,” he said.

Mr Brassell hopes anyone with information regarding the theft comes forward.