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CBC News
A depiction of the infant Jesus Christ, by Christian artist Heather Wise in Ontario.
# Christ Almighty
Parishioners in Canada are upset at this restored statue of the baby Jesus
“I wasn’t trained for this in the seminary,” the local priest said.
A WELL-MEANING SCULPTOR has created a “shocking” replacement for the head of a baby Jesus sculpture in Canada.
Ontario artist Heather Wise has unintentionally caused controversy by decking a statue of the baby Jesus with a quasi-demonic red head made of clay.
The original marble statue of the infant Christ, which is located in a churchyard in Sudbury, Ontario, was decapitated a year ago – one of several occasions the head has gone missing.
“It really is shocking to the eyes because of the big contrast in colour,” the church’s priest Gérard Lajeunesse told CBC News.
The priest went looking for a replacement head, but no local businesses would consider doing the work, as it would need to be custom-made.
A local artist, upset at the desecration of Our Lord’s statue, stepped up to the plate and “spent several hours” sculpting a replacement.
The head she sculpted kept on falling off, however, so she lifted the chin considerably, the priest told CBC. He added that parishioners were upset and disappointed at the restoration job.
The clay used in the statue has begun to erode from rain.
“It’s a first try. It’s a first go,” the local priest told CBC, adding:
I wasn’t trained for this in seminary.
Earlier this month, Wise told local news website Sudbury.com that she plans to create a permanent stone head for the piece next year.
Commenters on the CBC story have compared the new face of Our Saviour with Maggie Simpson, a Hallowe’en prank, or Gollum from the Lord Of The Rings.
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