Belgian authorities are mystified over a brazen theft over the weekend from a Christmas Nativity scene of an icon of infant Jesus Christ that had been widely scorned online, the AP reports. Snatched from his crib on the Grand Place in historic old Brussels between late Friday night or early Saturday, this specific version of infant Jesus is part of a nativity scene that has been at the center of a maelstrom on social media because the faces of the characters lack eyes, noses, and mouths.
Artist Victoria-Maria Geyer crafted the nativity figure out of cloth in hopes the faithful from Japan to Namibia would see themselves in the soft fabrics lacking any identifying features, so that "every Catholic, regardless of their background or origins can identify themselves" in the biblical story of the birth of Christ, she said. Georges-Louis Bouchez, the head of the center-right MR party, which is part of Belgium's ruling coalition, said in a post on X that Geyers' cloth Christ "in no way represent the spirit of Christmas." He compared the figures to what he called "zombie-like" people found at train stations.
Early reports that the infant Jesus had been beheaded are false, but Delphine Romanus, deputy director of Brussels Major Events, which manages the manger and market, said that in the past other baby Jesus figurines have been broken or stolen. Authorities have already replaced the baby Jesus in the crib. Organizers and security say they will keep a closer eye on the manger, but they have not taken any additional precautions.
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