A pig's head wrapped in plastic was left in the center of the manger in the church's nativity scene.
(CNN) -- Police in Haverhill, Massachusetts, are asking the public to help solve a bizarre theft.
Authorities say a priest at Sacred Hearts Church, north of Boston, called them Christmas morning to report that someone had stolen a baby Jesus from a nativity scene and replaced it with a real pig's head.
Video from CNN affiliate WHDH showed the pig's head wrapped in plastic in the center of the manger, surrounded by Mary, Joseph and lamb figurines.
Sacred Hearts Parish was founded in 1908 and serves 3,000 families of the Merrimack Valley.
Police are asking for the public's help and plan a news conference Friday morning.
