Edinburgh church heartbroken after Baby Jesus statue vandalism on Christmas Eve
The incident took place ahead of midnight mass.
A statue of the Baby Jesus has been vandalised at a centuries-old Edinburgh church on Christmas Eve.
The incident took place at St Patrick’s Church, in the Cowgate area of the Old Town, ahead of midnight mass on December 24.
The church shared the sad news on social media at around 10.30pm.
In a post on Facebook, they wrote: “We ask prayers for reparation tonight on this Vigil of the Lord’s Nativity, for the attack upon the Child Jesus, taken from the throne above the altar; also for the desecration of relics in the Lady Chapel, violence at the crib in the side aisle, and blood spilled in the sanctuary, side chapel and nave.
“At the Easter Vigil we also had threats made against us; tonight another told us ‘you’re finished here’.
“We will bless the Church again after cleaning up the desecration. Encouraging all souls to turn to our patron, that St Patrick’s prayers will protect this oasis of prayer in the Old Town.”
Angry church-goers vented their anger over the attack in the comments section.
One wrote: ”I am absolutely speechless. Such evil cowards. Their soul is now marked forever. God bless St Pats, the Holy Fathers and the Parish”.
Another said: ”How awful! I’m so sorry this has happened to you - you do nothing but good and this is how people behave. God forgive them”.
A third added: ”Very sad that this has happened, especially on Christmas Eve, prayers for peace in our world”.
The B-listed St Patrick's Church was originally built in 1771 as an Episcopalian Church. It was then sold to the Presbyterian Relief Church in 1818, before being bought by the Catholic Church in 1856.
St Patrick's is also famous for being the historic home of Hibernian FC, who were formed in the church by Parish Priest Canon Edward Joseph Hannan in 1875 to help feed the poor and the sick in the Irish community in Edinburgh.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of vandalism of a statue at a church in the South Gray Place area of Edinburgh around 6.40pm on Wednesday, 24 December, 2025.
“Following enquiries, it has been established that this was not a targeted incident. Further enquiries are ongoing.”