If not an early visit by Santa Claus, then certainly someone with even higher motives found replacement statues for those stolen at St. Colman Chapel on Irish Mountain.

“An anonymous angel has brought an early Christmas to St. Colman Chapel, proving once again that some good indeed can come out of evil,” Father Arthur Bufogle exclaimed upon hearing of the placement there of two statues to replace those reported stolen last week.

Sometime between mid-September and early November, a party or parties unknown entered the always-open St. Colman Catholic Chapel and stole two statues, one of Mary the Blessed Mother and the other of St. Joseph.

At the time, Arthur, pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Hinton, under whose stewardship St. Colman also falls, noted he did not understand to what purpose a thief possibly could put those statues.

“To take food when one’s family is starving is not stealing; to take the means of warmth when one’s family is freezing is not stealing, but to remove symbols of faith from a place of worship, that simply is heinous.

“It is a desecration and a sacrilege.”

Apparently, someone agreed with those sentiments.

According to Arthur, “While meeting with contractors who will be making repairs to the chapel’s roof, a member of our finance council noticed that two statues similar to those which had been stolen had been placed in the church.

“The immediate reaction, of course, was that the thief or thieves, upon reflection, had returned the statues.

“The first indication that this was not so was the placement of the statues. There are four wall brackets within the chapel, one on each sidewall and two that flank the entrance.

“It would seem reasonable to presume that the person or persons who had removed them would have replaced them from where they had been taken, but these were on the other brackets.

“Secondly, whoever did place the statues within the chapel left behind the box in which they had been transported. Found tucked under one of the box flaps was a price tag with the name of the store from which the statues apparently had been purchased.

“Besides which, it later was noticed the statues were of a different material than those that had been stolen and they obviously were new.”

Arthur credited the attention brought about by news reports of the theft for the anonymous gifts.

As reported then, the theft of the statues was discovered in early November by members of the Friars Club, the men’s group of St. Patrick.

The group routinely clean the chapel and perform maintenance on the grounds and cemetery.

“We heard from many, many people who had read and seen the news reports,” Arthur said.

“In no small measure, it was this publicity, along with the expressed shock of those who read and saw it, that helped bring this about.”