Virgin Mary Statue Stolen and Found Chopped Into Six Pieces In Sweden
The bronze religious statue stolen from St. Mary Magdalene’s church in Hisingen
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A 200-kilogram statue of the Virgin Mary was stolen from a Roman Catholic church in the city of Gothenburg in Sweden, and later was found cut up into six pieces.
The bronze statue, which was around 1.75 meters (5’7″) in height, was stolen from St. Mary Magdalene’s church in Hisingen.
The religious statue was located in a custom-built area outside of the church building, according to Goteborgs Posten.
The statue was later found in a storage room next to a transformer, cut up into six different parts, on Thursday afternoon.
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Parish assistant at the Mary Magdalene Catholic Parish, Doris Wennerberg, said she hoped the statue could be put back together and placed back where it had been stolen from.
“We will review the security; it has been stolen once, so there is a risk that it will be taken again and perhaps in an even worse way," Wennerberg said.
"It must be repaired, and we must get a new safety device before we can set it up again,” she added.
Jan-Åke Törnhage, a criminal and freight inspector at the Stockholm Police, said thefts of bronze objects and statues are becoming more and more common across Sweden.
Törnhage added that thieves are likely looking to melt the statues, before selling the metal.
Swedish police working in the no-go Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby in Sweden say criminals "laugh" at laws
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The shocking theft comes just a year after Swedish crown jewels belonging to former Swedish King Charles IX were stolen from Strängnäs cathedral.
The jewels, reportedly worth 65 million kronor ($7.2 million), were later recovered by police several months later in the Stockholm area, and a 22-year-old man was arrested in connection to the theft.
Church desecrations and robberies have been a significant issue in other European countries like France and the UK, where an estimated three churches are attacked every day on average.
Earlier this year, churches located in the East end of London suffered arson attacks with each door being marked with satanic pentagrams and the number 666.
St John’s Church in Stratford was the first to be subjected to the attack where vandals set fire to the main door.
The arson came as other acts of vandalism took place, including doors being scratched and poster being ripped down, the Newham Recorder reported.
