Baby Jesus Statue Beheaded on Christmas Eve
27th December 2025
A statue of the baby Jesus was beheaded at a church on Christmas Eve.
It happened at St Patrick’s Church in Edinburgh’s Old Town, one of the Scottish capital’s most important Catholic places of worship.
Church officials asked the congregation for “prayers for reparation” of the Nativity scene after the incident and said they would “bless the church again”.
Two visitors to the church are understood to have become distressed and taken the baby Jesus figure from the altar ahead of midnight Mass on Dec 24.
Police Scotland said inquiries were ongoing, and it was not believed to be a hate crime targeted at Catholics. The incident is understood to have been mental health-related.