Just days after a statue of baby Jesus was displayed for the first time in a shrine inside a Staten Island monastery, thieves heisted it, according to the Staten Island Advance. But the priests and brothers who reside at the Alba House have not called police, choosing instead to post a note in place of the foot-long ceramic figurine asking for the statue to be returned. "Maybe someone really needed it," said Brother Vincent, who said he prayed for the statue and whoever took it.
"People complained that we should have something for Christmas," said Brother Vincent, who placed the figurine atop a pillow and cloaked it in a brown sackcloth on Christmas Eve. "After we placed it, people said that it was very nice. At Christmastime people wanted to see the baby Jesus or maybe touch the baby Jesus. I was feeling happy that people were happy." But that happiness was soon replaced with sorrow when crooks grabbed the statue and fled from the sanctuary on New Year's Eve. "It's really a pity that someone can take something from such a magical place," said Davelle (Diane) Reinke, a Todt Hill resident. "The Alba House is a place of miracles, let another miracle happen and bring baby Jesus back."
