Second coming for statue of baby Jesus
A statue of baby Jesus that remained headless for months after it was decapitated in northern Ontario has been resurrected.
The head that was knocked off and stolen has been restored to the statue at Ste-Anne-des-Pins parish in Sudbury, though the volunteer who made the repairs says it will take several days to complete the work.
Gilles Grandmaison, a retired parishioner who is donating his labour to the church, said he still needs to fix the statue’s nose and its hand, which were both broken. He said the materials for the work are too toxic to be used indoors, so the project’s progress is at the mercy of the weather.
The statue was vandalized more than a year ago but captured the world’s attention last fall when it was fitted with a temporary clay head that prompted online comparisons to a character from The Simpsons.
The bright orange terracotta head — created by a local artist — was later removed so it wouldn’t stain the white stone of the statue, and the original head was recovered shortly afterwards.
The church said the original head had been stolen by someone it described as a “troubled teen.”
Grandmaison said he offered his services after hearing that the repairs to the statue would cost an arm and a leg.
He reattached the statue’s head using a metal rod and an industrial adhesive.
It would be impossible to decapitate the statue again, he said.
“They won’t be able to detach it. To detach it, they’d have to break it completely,” he said in French.
The restored statue is already catching the eye of the community, with many stopping to examine his work and take pictures, he said.
The church has said the statue had lost its head at least once before but in each case, the missing piece was found and reattached.