Couple Donates Statue Of Jesus To Brooklyn Church To Replace Stolen Figurine
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- 'Tis the season for giving.
Kathleen and George Damerel of Oak Ridge, N.J. have donated a statue of Jesus to a church in Williamsburg to replace a similar figurine that was stolen three weeks ago.
1010 WINS' Stan Brooks reports
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"This is just the best thing that we could do, especially since this is a season of giving," Kathleen Damerel said. "We're very thrilled that Father wanted us to give it a new home and that was very meaningful to us."
The statue had been in her family for more than 100 years.
The original statue of the "Sacred Heart of Jesus" sat on a pedestal outside the rectory of Saints Peter and Paul Church for more than a decade before it was torn from its base in the middle of the night.
At nearly 4-feet high, the white porcelain statue would have been quite heavy but surveillance cameras caught a lone thief carrying it away.
Parishioner Louise Gergel is thankful to the couple for their kind donation.
"I just feel good and great and wonderful that he's back," Gergel said.
"This is a wonderful event, the charity of these people is overwhelming, it's a blessing," another parishioner said.
Police were investigating the theft as a possible hate crime.
