GIBBSBORO – On the afternoon of Sept. 7, as a handful of parishioners prayed the Divine Mercy, Msgr. Louis A. Marucci and two staff members entered Saint Andrew the Apostle Church carrying the statue of Our Lady of Fatima that had been stolen a week before.
“When we brought the statue into the church, I started hearing people crying,” said Msgr. Marucci, parish pastor. “That speaks of their faith and their love for Our Lady. It’s not the statue – it’s what she represents, and the intercession and power she has in our lives. It’s praying to Jesus through Mary.”
The statue, a replica of the image of Our Lady of Fatima at the shrine in Portugal, was reported stolen Sept. 2. The suspect, caught on parish surveillance video, was arrested Sept. 7. Robert Adelman, 64, of Woodbury, has been charged with theft.
Msgr. Marucci and parishioners were elated that the statue was returned just in time for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated Sept. 8. From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., parishioners would be praying 2,000 Hail Marys in honor of the Blessed Mother’s birthday.
During the morning Mass, attended by the police officers instrumental to the investigation, Msgr. Marucci rededicated the statue and blessed it with holy water. He and the nearly 70 parishioners in attendance also prayed over the officers, thanking them for their hard work.
“They were diligent, knowing the feast was coming up and how important it was for us to have the statue returned,” Msgr. Marucci said. He also recalled the telephone call he received when the statue was found. “Chief [Brian] Leadley said, ‘Monsignor, we are bringing the statue of the Blessed Mother back home.’”
Both Chief Leadley and Det. Anthony Treger of the Gibbsboro Police Department said the security video and parishioners’ help was instrumental to the investigation.
“We tried everything in our power to recover the statue, and the community played a huge role in identifying the suspect,” Det. Treger said.
Surveillance cameras were installed inside and outside the church several years ago thanks to a Homeland Security grant awarded to the parish. After the statue went missing, parish staff circulated video images of the suspect through emails and social media.
Valued at around $4,000, this particular Fatima image is unique in that it is an exact replica of the Our Lady icon in Fatima, Portugal. Encased in the crown of the statue housed at the shrine is one of the bullets that struck Pope John Paul II during the 1981 assassination attempt. Deeply devoted to Our Lady of Fatima, Saint John Paul II always credited the Holy Mother with saving his life. The statue in Gibbsboro includes a replica bullet in the crown, too.
In his homily during the morning Mass on Sept. 8, Msgr. Marucci preached, “We speak about Mary as the dawn of salvation, Jesus as bringing the fulfillment of God’s salvific plans into the world to establish it, and how he leaves it in our hands to bring it to completion.”
He continued, “You might ask yourself this question: If God came to bring salvation into the world, then why does evil exist and why do people do such sinful things? The answer to that is because God does not force us into relationship with him. He invites us into relationship with him. So frequently people will make decisions to turn away from God in the actions they commit. And we experienced that here last week.
“So pray for the person who did this act, hoping that whatever the motivation was, he will be able to get the help and support he needs in the future so that things like this don’t happen again to other communities.”
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