PHOTOS: Abandoned newborn found in Queens nativity scene

A newborn boy was found in a Queens church’s nativity scene on Monday.

At the Holy Child Jesus Church in Richmond Hill, a custodian heard a baby crying from a distance, ABC 7 reported, adding that Father Christopher Heanue and others were quickly called to help the abandoned infant, wrapped in cloths, left in the manger.

“The baby was still, umbilical cord connected, so it was truly a newborn baby,” the custodian said to ABC.

The baby, whose name was not known, was taken to Jamaica Hospital Center, the NewYork Times stated. Doctors said it appeared that he had been born four to five hours earlier, that report added.

“God has a way of working mysteriously because I believe when this woman who came in with this child, saw this, this empty home, this home in which we’ll welcome Jesus in just a few short weeks, I believe she found in it a home for her child,” Father Heanue was quoted by ABC.

Poice said a woman, seen on a video that has not been released, had arrived with the boy wrapped in a towel, his umbilical cord still attached, and departed without him, the Times reported. Authorities are now concerned about the wellbeing of the boy’s mother, ABC added.

“I feel for the mother, for her sorrow, and for the feelings that she must be going through,” Father Heanue said to ABC.

New York safe haven laws allow parents to anonymously leave infants at sites like hospitals, firehouses or churches, but the parent must alert someone to the child’s presence, which did not happen in this case, the police said in the Times article.

“Let us pray for this child,” Father Heanue was quoted by ABC, “for his parents and for whomever will receive him into their home.”