Friday, May 18, 2012

Virgin Mary statue stolen from Leeds church

Thieves have stolen a statue of the Virgin Mary from a shrine looking out over the grounds of a church.

The statue of Our Lady was situated in a stone grotto in the grounds of the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption in Spen Lane at West Park in Leeds.

For years the plaster statue looked out of the window of a house in nearby Queenswood Drive before it was donated to the church.

It was placed in a picturesque grotto on a mound with a stone surround and shrubs next to the modern church building.

The statue is made from plaster, is around 50cms (20 inches) high, on a black plinth. Our Lady is wearing a blue dress and a white veil.

Su Goodyear, parish secretary, said: “Some time between the morning of last Thursday, May 3, and the morning of Friday, May 4, a statue of Our Lady was stolen from the grotto outside the church. The culprit went to some trouble to steal the statue, which was behind glass so thick that it had to be bent and pulled out rather than broken."

“Although the statue is of little financial value, it is dearly loved by the parishioners of the Assumption, which is part of the larger parish of Our Lady of Kirkstall, and they would be delighted if she could be returned to them. For many years, she looked out of the window of a house on Queenswood Drive before being gifted to the church.”

Before the theft there had been an attempt to vandalise the grotto and statue. 

Ms Goodyear appealed to YEP readers to be on the lookout.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “We are investigating the theft of a religious statue and criminal damage to the housing where the statue was displayed.”