ST. JOSEPH — The pastor at church in central Minnesota says he’s hoping for a miracle after Mary, Joseph and three sheep disappeared from the congregation’s outdoor nativity display.

Church of St. Joseph Rev. Jerome Tupa said he hopes that whoever took the 3-foot-tall figures will have a change of heart and return them. Tupa said just a few barnyard animals remain in the display.

The pastor said the figures have more than a monetary value. They’ve been with the church for several decades. The parish still has the baby Jesus because it isn’t place in the nativity scene until Christmas.

Tupa said a shepherd was stolen earlier, on Thanksgiving Day.