Toronto the Good: Stolen Jesus statue returned — with apology

Less than two weeks after an Ontario sculptor's "Jesus the Homeless" statue was blessed by Pope Francis, another one of his statues was stolen.

Days later, it was back — with an apology note.

Timothy Schmalz's "Whatsoever You Do," a 100-pound resin sculpture representing Jesus as a beggar with an outstretched, nail-scarred hand, was stolen from outside a Kensington Market church in Toronto last Saturday afternoon.

The fibreglass sculpture had been sitting outside the Church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields on College Street since September. It was loaned to the church until it could raise enough funds to replace the statue with a bronze version.

"The biggest concern for me is that we have lots of homeless and marginalized people around this church, and this was the first depiction of Jesus they could relate to," Reverend Maggie Helwig told the Toronto Star. "It's not so much a theft from the church as a theft from the community."

On Thursday morning the statue was back, with a hard-to-read, rain-soaked note that apologized for the theft.

"I'm sorry, it seemed like a good idea at the time," it read.

"We're so relieved it's back – the whole community is. People have been passing by, patting its head, and coming in my office to tell me how happy they are it’s back," Helwig told CTV News.

"It makes me feel good and it shows Toronto is an amazing city," Schmalz told the Star, admitting he was upset by the theft and respects the courage it took to return it.

"I think in a lot of different cities you would never see it again. In Toronto you get it brought back and you have a letter posted on it that says 'I'm sorry.'"