When parishioners went to celebrate Easter at St. Catherine of Siena this weekend, they found a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the grounds had been vandalized.

“We are aware of this sad act of vandalism and will be working with specialist to have the statue repaired and restored,” said Rev. Stephen Donohoe in a statement.

The vandalized statue is off of Nahatan Street, located closer to St. Catherine of Siena School. Norwood Police received a call about the vandalism at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 26. The top half of the statue had been painted black with spray paint, and an unidentified symbol was left at the base of the statue. Commenters in the Facebook group "Norwood Now" suggested the symbol was Arabic for Allah.

“There definitely is a resemblance,” Officer Kevin Grasso said, but noted the Norwood Police were still investigating the vandalism, including the meaning of the symbol.

Regardless of whom vandalized the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Father Donohue preached understanding.

“Please pray for the person or persons who did this,” Donohue said. “We are reminded never to take the gift and treasure of our faith for granted but to live it and proclaim it every day.”

The police continue to investigate the vandalism, and plan on looking at surveillance footage from St. Catherine of Siena. Grasso said he is not sure if this footage will capture anything.

“They do have surveillance, but they don’t think that particular surveillance camera reaches out to the statue,” Grasso said, as it is focused on the door.

Police responded to the vandalism by upping patrols at St. Catherine’s and other churches in Norwood. Police Chief Bill Brooks stopped by one of St. Catherine’s masses on Sunday.

Grasso noted that the act of vandalizing a religious statue could be perceived as a hate crime.

“If we do find out who did this, they will probably be charged with defacing church property, a civil rights offense,” Grasso said.

The church is collecting money to help restore the statue. Donohoe asked those would like to help to mail a check or drop off a donation for Saint Catherine of Siena Parish, 547 Washington St., Norwood. He asks that checks state they are for the statue restoration.

"There has been a lot of positive energy," Donohoe said. "It is much more a positive response this thing has evoked than any kind of dark paint could obscure. It didn't obscure the good will of the people of Norwood, and they've responded tremendously."

Staff writer Brad Cole can be reached at 781-433-8339 or bcole@wickedlocal.com. Like The Norwood Transcript and Bulletin on Facebook and follow @bradcolewrites and @NorwoodTranscri on Twitter.