Called “Crowning” by the artist Esther Strauss, the sculpture had been part of a temporary exhibition of art outside the Catholic St. Mary Cathedral in Linz, Austria.

Meanwhile, the Diocese of Linz told the website kath.net that “the sculpture will remain in the Mariendom art hall until the planned end of the exhibition [July 16], but will not be visible.

A Amazonian indigenous statue of a pregnant woman is seen as participants in the Amazon synod, attend the opening prayer in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Monday, Oct. 7, 2019.

The artist who created the “crowning” sculpture, Esther Strauss, also condemned the destruction, according to the Linz diocese statement.