A Catholic school has been forced to cover up a statue of a saint and a young boy after online critics slammed its eye-catching design.

The statue was unveiled at Blackfriars Priory School in Adelaide last week which features St Martin de Porres handing a young boy a small loaf of bread.

The stone sculpture is believed to be a reference to the saint's ability to multiply food and drink, most notably bread.

View photos The statue has been slammed online for its inconsiderate design. Source: Instagram More

An image of the statue was posted on popular Instagram page "S***Adelaide" and quickly gained over 2,700 likes while garnering a string of comments questioning the positioning of the bread roll.

The majority of comments were in disbelief over the apparent sexual nature of the commissioned work while others made references to an unfortunate history of Catholic priests abusing young boys.

View photos The statue was temporarily wrapped in a black sheet. Source: Instagram More

"WOW! That's just awful no one twigged before it got unveiled. How shocking is that?!?!," one Instagram user wrote.

"Brings a new meaning to the phrase bread stick haha," another comment joked.

The school were forced to cover the statue in a large, black sheet wrapped in tape before setting up temporary fencing around the stone sculpture, The Advertiser reported.

Blackfriars Priory School's Principal, Simon Cobiac, released a statement via the school's Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon detailing their decision to remove the statue after the two-dimensional plans were initially approved.

"The two-dimensional concept plans for the statue were viewed and approved by the Executive Team in May but upon arrival the three-dimensional statue was deemed by the Executive to be potentially suggestive," he said.

"As a consequence, the statue was immediately covered and a local sculptor has been commissioned to re-design it.

"The School apologises for any concerns and publicity generated by this matter and is taking action to substantially alter the statue."

View photos It was eventually cordoned off with temporary fencing. Source: Instagram More

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