A Catholic school in Australia became the butt of many jokes after unveiling a new statue that its principal called "potentially suggestive."
The statue, which was unveiled at Blackfriars Priory School in Adelaide last week, shows St. Martin de Porres giving a young boy a loaf of bread.
Quickly after the statue made its debut on campus, its appearance became fodder for social media users, according to Australia's The Advertiser newspaper.
Click the tweet below to see the full image of the statue.
AN ADELAIDE CATHOLIC SCHOOL HAD TO COVER UP THIS STATUE OF A SAINT HANDING SOME BREAD TO A YOUNG BOY I WILL GIVE YOU 1 GUESS AS TO WHY pic.twitter.com/yMP691YZbX
— mat whitehead (@matwhi) November 22, 2017
Detractors ripped the statue for appearing sexual, due to the shape and placement of the bread, which was at the saint's crotch level.
The Advertiser reported that the statue was designed by a sculptor in Vietnam who has done previous work for Blackfriars Priory School. School officials reviewed concept drawings of the sculpture's design in May and approved it.
According to the Australian Associated Press, the school's principal announced on social media this week that upon seeing the completed statue, some school officials thought it was "potentially suggestive."
The school has since covered the statue with a black cloth and plans to have it redesigned by a local artist.
Clint Davis is a reporter for the Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis. Keep up to date with the latest news by following @ScrippsNational on Twitter.
