Catholic school covers 'suggestive' statue of a saint handing a loaf of bread to a boy

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A Catholic school in Australia was forced to cover a statue of a saint after its “potentially suggestive” design stirred controversy and mockery on social media.

The statue depicts Saint Martin de Porres, a Dominican brother known for helping the poor and founding an orphanage for abandoned children and slaves. Next to him is a young boy whose head is at the pelvis level of the saint with his right hand out as de Porres holds a loaf of bread, which appears to be coming out of his clothing.

Blackfriars Priory School in South Australia unveiled the statue last week, the Advertiser newspaper reported. It was covered with black cloth a few days later after pictures began spreading on social media.

The statue was made in Vietnam by a sculptor who had previously created a statue of Saint Dominic for the school, and was meant to portray de Porres's legacy of helping the needy, especially children, during the 16th century, Principal Simon Cobiac said in a statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

School officials saw and approved two-dimensional plans for the statue in May, but they later determined that the final, three-dimensional product was “potentially suggestive,” Cobiac said.

“The School apologises for any concerns and publicity generated by this matter and is taking action to substantially alter the statue,” he said.

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The school has commissioned a local sculpture to redesign the statue, Cobiac said.

Pictures of the statue were shared on what appears to be a local Instagram account. Many seemed surprised that school officials didn't immediately notice the suggestiveness of the statue.

Blackfriars Priory School is a private Dominican school in Prospect, a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia. The school has students from Asian countries such as China, Indonesia, Korea and Vietnam.

The school is no stranger to controversy.

At least two former Blackfriars teachers were convicted of child sex abuse within the past 12 years, ABC Australia reported.

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Steven John Stockdale-Hall pleaded guilty in 2005 to abusing children ages 13 to 16. The crimes happened from 1977 to 1989. Ronald William Hopkins, who was already serving 10 years for abusing five boys in the 1980s, was sentenced again in 2011 after more victims came forward.

The school also made headlines two weeks ago after a Blackfriars student wrote a hoax letter telling other students about a breach in a biology exam and that they must retake the test, 9 News reported.

“The breach resulted in a significant number of candidates being unfairly advantaged by having been familiar with parts of the source material that was presented in the examination,” the letter said.

The letter was printed on a paper with the logo of the South Australian Certificate of Education Board.

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