#Virgin Mary statue lit on fire outside NYC church

A vandal set fire to a statue of the Virgin Mary outside a Catholic Church in the Bronx, cops said.

The arson occurred outside the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mary Catholic Church in Melrose around 6 p.m. Sunday, according to police.

A forgiving parish priest who answered the phone at the East 150th Street church Tuesday night said the harm to the statue was mild, and the woman suspected of the crime may be in need of mental health services.

“It’s probably a person who is mentally imbalanced, so she lit some clothing on fire and threw it up on the statue, which is made of concrete, so it didn’t do much damage,” the priest, who did not wish to be identified, told The Post.

“It would be important to check in to why isn’t there more help available for the mentally ill, that would be a better story,” the priest said, dismissing the arson as “a non-incident”

Detectives were still searching for the suspect, police said.