The Jesus statue that was swiped from a Brooklyn church over the weekend was found in a garbage can nearby, the dicoese said Friday.
The Diocese of Brooklyn said that a man living near the Saints Peter and Paul Church in Williamsburg found the stature of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a garbage when he went out to smoke earlier this week.
The diocese said the man took the effigy to his mother. They they saw news reports about the statue's theft on Thursday night and called the church so it could be returned to its rightful spot.
The church is making repairs to the statue, the diocese said.
Surveillance footage from the theft, on Saturday, showed a young woman lift the statue off its pedestal before running off with a man and a second woman.
It's not the first time a statue had been swiped from the church on South 2nd Street. A statue of Jesus was stolen in 2012, and the statue stolen over the weekend was donated by a New Jersey to replace the first stolen effigy.
It's also not the only church in the popular Brooklyn neighborhood to have its statues tampered with.
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In February, a man was caught on surveillance cameras knocking over a statue outside Our Lady of Consolation Church about four blocks from Saints Peter and Paul Church.
Anyone with information about the woman who stole the statue is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
