At a church in Doganella di Ninfa, 15 nativity scene statues, each measuring about 30 centimetres in height, were stolen.
The theft took place at the church of Santa Maria Assunta in early January, when unknown individuals removed the figures from the nativity display inside the building, including key elements of the scene.
The parish community and the local youth group San Carlo Acutis described the act on social media as leaving them “without words” and “wounding the heart” of the entire community, noting that the statue of the baby Jesus had been recently repurchased after a previous theft.
Investigations were ongoing at the time of reporting.