From the Denver Post: St. Francis church getting new statue of namesake to replace stolen piece

St. Francis, the statue, will soon rejoin his flock at St. Francis of Assisi National Catholic Church in southeast Denver, after donors pitched in the $3,500 to replace a statue stolen on July 30.

The 5-foot-tall statue had greeted the congregation in front of the small church on South Jersey Street south of Leetsdale Drive for 18 years.

The new statue will be in place the week of Sept. 19, the Rev. John Kalabokes said Sunday. A dedication is planned on Sept. 26 after the 9 a.m. Mass. St. Francis is the patron saint of animals, so a blessing of the animals will be held with the dedication, Kalabokes said.

The congregation of about 50 members, most of them on fixed incomes, appealed for help in finding the stolen statue, which has not turned up. Then donors, many of them from outside the church, stepped in to replace it.

A special prayer of thanksgiving for all who stepped up to help in replacing the statue.