People Keep Stealing Quincy’s Baby Jesus Statue

For the third time in a decade, Quincy's nativity scene is down a savior.

No one is quite sure where Quincy’s Little Lord Jesus is laying down his sweet head right now, because, as the Patriot Ledger puts it, the statue is “away from the manger.” For the third time in recent years, someone has taken the Jesus statue from the nativity scene near Quincy’s City Hall. And this year, they’ve taken Mary, Joseph, and a lamb, too.

“Please bring back Jesus and Mary to safety,” Police Captain John Dougan pleads in what must be becoming a tiresome holiday ritual.

The Jesus-thieving began in 2004, when the life-size statue was stolen from the creche and found a week later on the banks of the Town River. A perpetrator was never found. Last year, Jesus went missing again, even though the city began bolting him down. A dog-walker discovered him in the town cemetery. (“What child is this?” we like to imagine he said when stumbling upon it.)

This year, a Department of Public Works employee reported Jesus missing at 2:24 a.m. Thursday. Not much to do but pray he turns up again soon, preferably before his birthday, and in reasonable condition. The city could also start brainstorming ways to prevent what’s becoming a chronic problem. (Maybe adopt the tradition of keeping Jesus out of the nativity scene until Christmas day?) In the meantime, the three kings will be waiting. They traveled afar for this, you know.