Officials are trying to determine how a statue of the Virgin Mary was toppled and damaged this past week outside St. Peter Catholic Church in Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhood.
Maintenance workers arriving Friday morning discovered the damage where the statue had stood near a side entrance to the church, according to Jennifer Antkowiak, spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.
“It was knocked over and cracked,” she said. “There was no other damage in the area.”
Knocked off its platform, the statue was found lying on its back, with the head and hands broken off and other areas chipped, Antkowiak said.
She said the damage was reported to city police but noted church officials aren’t sure an act of vandalism was involved.
“It had either fallen or was pushed over,” she said.“We don’t have any information that it was deliberate.”
Antkowiak expressed doubt that the statue could be repaired.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Wendell D. Hissrich, the diocese director of safety and security, at 412-456-3148.