ROSWELL, Ga.,None — Members of a Catholic church in Roswell worked Monday to clean a vandalized statue of Jesus.
The congregation was stunned when they arrived for Easter mass Sunday morning and found the statue desecrated.
A parishioner from St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church called Channel 2 Action News after seeing the statue.
Someone had apparently put red paint over the face, hands and painted other offensive symbols on the statue.
"It was just beautiful. It was just welcoming, welcoming Jesus," said church member Susan Maisano. "I can't believe someone did that. I can't believe it."
Parishioners told Channel 2 Action News the statue was recently installed at the church. Church officials told Dore they spent five years raising money to get the statue made and shipped from Italy, and it had just arrived last month.
There was no word on any possible suspects in this incident. Police took a paint scraping to their lab to analyze it and to trace it back to the painter.
"We're praying for their salvation. Have mercy on their souls. Father forgive them," said Father Peter Pau.
The church brought in experts to clean the statue on Monday, but there were concerns that chemicals could smear the paint or damage the marble.
During the cleaning a finger broke off the statue and a specialist drilled holes and used a pin to reattach it.
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WSBTV
