A potentially record-breaking 22-foot statue of baby Jesus a Mexican church has been erected - but many on social media feel that the statue resembles a number of celebrities

The huge statue has been erected in the La Epifania del Senor church in the neighborhood of Zoquite in Guadalupe in the state of Zacatecas in central Mexico and reportedly measures 6.58 meters (21.6 feet) tall, weighing in at almost a tonne.

The sculptor of the statue Roman Salvador told local media: 'The image was made in the municipality of Chimalhuacan, it is an image of six and a half meters of fiberglass, resin, automotive paste and automotive paint.'

Many on social media, including the New York Post, couldn't help but note that the baby looked like an 80s version of Genesis frontman Phil Collins.

Others claimed that it looked more like Nicolas Cage.

Some web users took the chance to photoshop the statue into other pictures - including the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and a soccer match.

The baby Jesus statue was built in the city of Chimalhuacan in the nearby state of Mexico and traveled for 12 hours to the church where it is now erected.

According to the church's priest Humberto Rodriguez the baby Jesus statue could be the biggest in the world.

Rodriguez said to local media: 'There is a space of between eight metres between the ceiling and the floor and I ordered a statue measuring six meters and a half but I never intended to make it the biggest baby Jesus statue in the world.

'When it was done (the statue), I began to study the different statues of baby Jesus in the world to come with the tone of the face and I realized that the biggest baby (the biggest baby Jesus statue) in the world was in Netzahualcoyotl.'

Reports state the biggest statue of baby Jesus in the world was reportedly made in the city of Netzahualcoyotl in the nearby state of Mexico and it is five metres high and weighs 300 kilogrammes, although it is unclear if this record has been confirmed by Guinness World Records.

The church committee has reportedly contacted the organisation to start the procedures to confirm they have beaten the record.

This article has been adapted from its original source.