Protesters hunt nuns on the run with holy statues

Now you must admit that there is a funny side to this story!! I especially like the part about the termites.

Susan

Giles Tremlett in Madrid
Tuesday April 10, 2007

Guardian

The disappearance from a Spanish church of three statues dating back to the 16th century has led to a group of nuns being accused of theft.

The three carved wooden statues were taken from a church in the north-western Spanish town of Grajal de Campos several months ago.

They included a 16th century carving of Jesus Christ, a 17th century Virgin Mary and a later piece depicting St Joseph.

The three had stood together in the town's Antigua church for more than two centuries and had been paraded around the town every Easter, followed by devout villagers. But this Easter was the first in almost 500 years in which the townsfolk were unable to parade their figure of Jesus through the streets.

The Grajal de Campos brotherhood that normally carries the statue had to replace it with photographs of the real thing after a local convent closed down and the last remaining nuns decided to take the statues with them to their new home in Toledo.

The wooden figures now reside in the new Toledo convent the Carmelite nuns have been sent to.

The nuns claimed that, as they had been responsible for dusting and shining the statues, they belonged to them.

But the local mayor has unearthed documents proving that the statues were there well before a Carmelite convent was set up in the town in 1881.

"We have documents that show they were there in at least 1728," said Francisco Espinosa.

The townsfolk have taken their protests to Toledo, hiring a coach to take them to the new convent so that they could demonstrate outside.

"Termites are more trustworthy than Carmelites!" read one of their banners.

A judge has called the two parties to appear before him next week to decide who the statues really belong to.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007