HOBOKEN – Staff at Our Lady of Grace Church thought they received a suspicious package in the mail on Wednesday, but they were instead greeted by a pleasant surprise.

The contents? A baby Jesus statue that had apparently been stolen from the church nearly 90 years ago.

The Rev. Alex Santora, who writes The Jersey Journal's "Faith Matters" column, said the package was delivered via USPS with a tracking number but no return address information. He called the shipping company and learned only that the package was shipped from a person in Crystal Springs, Florida. The shipper had not provided a name.

The pastor of the church called the Hoboken Police Department and Emergency Service Unit officers responded to inspect the package with a heat detection device. Nothing suspicious appeared to be in the box, the package was opened, and Jesus was found with a note attached.

The shipper wrote in a letter dated Jan. 2, 2018, that the statue was stolen from the outside nativity display of the church in the early 1930s, when the sender's mother was about 12 years old.

"It came into (my mother's) father's possession somehow, and I don't know why he didn't return it," the Florida resident wrote. "Instead, he gave it to my mother after she was married and she too kept it until her passing when it came to me. Knowing the story, I felt it should be returned to the rightful owner and you will find it enclosed."

Santora, who had never even heard about the statue being stolen, said the church will likely use the figure in its nativity set inside the building this Christmas.

"I think its encouraging to see that even after decades people do the right thing," he said.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.