Newborn Infant Discovered in Nativity Scene's Manger at NYC Church

Police were called to a church in the Bronx borough of New York City this week after a priest discovered a newborn infant who had been placed in the church's holiday Nativity scene.

Surveillance video at Holy Child Jesus Church in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of New York City shows a woman entering the church on Tuesday afternoon at around 1 p.m., carrying a newborn infant bundled in purple towels.

The woman then left the infant in the manger of the church's Nativity scene and fled. The baby was found a short time later by the church's janitor, who informed the priest of the infant. The two then contacted the authorities.

Police say that the newborn, who is in healthy condition, was only about four to five hours old when left at the church.

"God works in mysterious ways," Father Christopher Heanue, the priest of the church, told the New York Daily News in an interview. "(The child's mother) must have been in a difficult place in her life. She found in this crèche [...] this empty place where Jesus will be in a few weeks [...] as a home for her son."

Father Heanue added to CBS News that although he was "shocked" by the discovery, he sees it as a thing to be celebrated.

"I was shocked, and yet really moved by it. The church is meant to be home for those in need and Pope Francis preaches about mercy and this is that year of mercy, and what more merciful way to live but to give a home to somebody in need," the priest told the media outlet.