Massachusetts

Virgin Mary Statue Removed From Marshfield Park After Complaint

The religious statue was removed last week from Veterans Memorial Park

After residing in a public park for a decade, a Virgin Mary statue in Marshfield, Massachusetts, has been removed due to a complaint from a resident.

The statue was removed last week from Veterans Memorial Park after someone complained about the religious statue, town officials said.

"Two weeks ago I got an email from one of our residents who wanted to know why there was a religious statue on a piece of town land," Town Administrator Michael Maresco said.

Caretaker Peter Dowd, a 76-year-old who has maintained the park for 19 years, said he put the statue there himself 10 years ago for two young siblings who were grieving.

"They come down here — two little kids and it looked like they came down here with their grandmother and grandfather and I looked and they were painting bricks with chalk in memory of mom and dad," Dowd recalled. "It hit my heart and hit me pretty bad."

Because Dowd knew the chalk would wash off, he took the two-foot statue home and painted it for them. He said he then placed the statue next to their bricks.

Although Dowd doesn't know the family, he knows they have been back to visit after leaving him notes and trinkets around the memorial.

Following the complaint, city officials will allow the bricks to remain in place. Dowd has the statue in safe keeping case the family comes looking for it.

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