May 27, 2010 / 08:47 am
Police are investigating the theft of a marble statue of St. Michael the Archangel from the gravestone of a U.S. Marine in Allegany, New York.
The family of former Marine Corporal David Woods, who died in May 2008, had chosen the marble statue of St. Michael because he is patron saint of the military.
The Olean Times Herald reports that the statue was stolen from St. Bonaventure Cemetery sometime between Saturday and Sunday. It depicts the archangel holding a gray metal sword and stepping on Lucifer’s head. It is between three and four feet tall and valued at $2,500.
A replica from Italy, the statue had been blessed by a Catholic priest. The thief or thieves broke the object from its base.