Thief Steals Religious Statue From Gibbsboro Church, Monsignor Says

GIBBSBORO, NJ — A rare religious statue of Our Lady of Fatima was stolen from St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Gibbsboro on Aug. 30, a leader of the church said.

"It's such an offense to the community," Monsignor Louis Marcucci, the leader of the church, told Patch. "But it is what it is. You never know the motives of why people do some of the things that they do."

The stolen statue was obtained during a trip to Fatima, Portugal, about six years ago, according to Marcucci and certainly was not "something ordinary that you bought off the shelf," according to Marcucci.

It is a replica of "an image of Our Lady of Fatima appearing to three children in Fatima, Portugal [in 1916] ... with messages of peace to the world," he said.

The stolen statue stood roughly two feet tall and was painted mostly blue and white, images of the statue indicate. The statue also contained a gold casing of the bullet that injured Pope John Paul II during an assassination attempt in 1981, Marcucci added.

It was worth about $4,000, he continued. However, it is not the financial value of the statue that is troubling, he continued.

"The spiritual significance of that statue was really important for our congregation. That's where there's a significant loss for the community," Marcucci said.

"Will I be able to acquire another statue of the Mother of Fatima? Absolutely. Would I be able to acquire one that has all that symbolism? And replicability? I do not think so," Marcucci said.

Anyone with information regarding who stole the statue or the statue's whereabouts was asked to contact St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Gibbsboro at 856-784-3878.

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