Saint's statue stolen from historic grotto in Manitoba

The small statue depicting Saint Bernadette of Lourdes (pictured) in a small chapel on the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto grounds near St. Malo. (Submitted: Leo Roch)

A Manitoba parish is hoping a saint's statue stolen from a historic grotto near St. Malo will be returned before an annual pilgrimage.

Leo Roch, the co-director of financial matters at the Blessed Margaret Parish, said the theft happened sometime in June. He said someone stole a small statue depicting Saint Bernadette of Lourdes, which was resting in a glass coffin in a small chapel on the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto grounds near St. Malo.

"From one day to the next, it disappeared. We've been trying to encourage whoever took it to bring it back, but so far we've had no success," Roch said.

He said someone would have had to crawl through a Plexiglas wall that separated the casket from the chapel. He suspects it was a prank.

He said the theft was reported to RCMP, but because the replica statue has no monetary value, the parish would like it back – no questions asked.

"The message we want to convey is that we don't care who you are, we don't care what your motives were, we don't want to pursue this. All we want is we'd like to have the replica back and move forward," he said.

The hope is the statue will be found in time for the annual pilgrimage to the grotto, which is scheduled for Aug. 21. The annual event, which was cancelled the past two years due to COVID-19, is expected to draw around 1,000 people.

"It's a very gorgeous, nice place to have a service like that," he said. "It's been growing over the last few years. And we're hoping that this year it'll be even better, especially after a two-year absence."

However, Roch said it is looking like they will have to move forward without Saint Bernadette.

"Unless it comes back without damage, it could still be there for the pilgrimage, but that's very doubtful now," he said.

He said if the statue is not returned, the parish will look at buying another one.