The new terracotta head that has left parishioners shocked and disappointed. Picture: CBC.

The head of the pearly white statue — taken a year ago from the courtyard of the Sainte Anne Des Pins Roman Church in Sudbury, Canada — has been replaced by a terracotta sculpture.

“It really is shocking to the eyes because of the big contrast in colour,” the church’s priest Gerard Lajeunesse told CBC News.

None of the local businesses were willing to replace the statue’s head. And replacing the entire statue was too costly.

Compounding the case against replacing the entire statue was that it had been vandalised before.

“It’s always Jesus’ head that goes missing. Probably because it’s smaller and easier to break off,”

Lajeunesse said.

“You wonder, if we do replace it with a new one, will we be up against the same situation?”.

That’s when local artist Heather Wise came to the rescue.

“She was quite upset about it and she offered to do something if she could,” the priest said.

Priest Gerard Lajeunesse has given the artist credit for giving the head replacement a ago. Picture: CBC.Source:Supplied

Lajeunesse said many parishioners were shocked and disappointed with the head replacement but he gave the artist credit for trying.

“It’s a first try. It’s a first go,” he said, adding, “I wasn’t trained for this in seminary.”

Unfortunately — or fortunately, depending on your point of view — the clay head is already falling apart after less than a week.

“I don’t expect it to last long. She plans on sculpting in stone sometime next year,” Lajeunesse said.