“Icon for immigrants” given a home in parish church known as haven for immigrants

Dec 8, 2004 / 22:00 pm

A life-sized statue of Christ found floating in the Rio Grande last year has been donated to Our Lady of Refuge church in Eagle Pass after having spent a year in the police departments evidence room.

The statue had become an icon for the many undocumented immigrants who wade across the river to enter the U.S., noted Laredo Catholic Bishop James Tamayo, Associated Press reports.

The statue is to be housed in a new chapel at Our Lady of Refuge, which has become a haven for immigrants, and will be loaned periodically to two other churches.