Jesus has returned to a New Jersey church, a baby Jesus statue the church said was stolen eight decades ago showed up.
Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph in Hoboken came across the surprise Wednesday when an unknown package was delivered to its doors.
WNBC’s Pat Battle reports.
The
cardboard box that was delivered to our lady of grace roman catholic
church on Wednesday at first appeared innocuous till Father Santora
noted there was no return address.
"The
post office said just it was from crystal springs Florida but there was
no name. I was still more concerned so I called the police." Said
Father Alex Santora.
No
bomb no powder instead t of is plaster statue of the baby Jesus and
a type written unsigned note that read in part.. "My mom told me this
statue was stolen from the church nativity display in the 1930s..It
wound up with the senders grandfather.
"I
don't know why he didn't return it instead he gave it to my mother
after she was married and she too kept it until her passing."
And call it guilt or a come to Jesus moment, the anonymous sender returned it - decades later.
"Let
us pray that we always have the confidence to do the right thing like
this family did that statue may have been worth a few dollars but
symbolically it really represents who we are as a community." Said
Father Santora.
Father
Alex told the story at midday mass at this historic church that dates
back to the 1860s and it moved some parishioners to tears.
