--- description: She is a member of the group FEMEN title: Vatican Releases Feminist Activist Who Stole Baby Jesus While Topless image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6e91a12b9bfe7f3/69877747cd1bba14616f4620/ap953445534026.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [vatican city](/tag/vatican-city/) ## vatican city Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Vatican Frees Activist Who Stole Baby Jesus Statue While Topless by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 27, 2014 6:42 PM CUT  A gendarme from the Vatican's security forces stops a Ukrainian feminist group Femen activist after she snatched the statue of Baby Jesus from the Nativity scene set in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Dec. 25, 2014. A gendarme from the Vatican's security forces stops a Ukrainian feminist group Femen activist after she snatched the statue of Baby Jesus from the Nativity scene set in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Dec. 25, 2014.AP by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 27, 2014 6:42 PM CUT The Vatican has released a [Ukrainian activist](http://femen.org/?attempt=1 "undefined") who stole a replica of baby Jesus from St. Peter’s Square Nativity scene while topless on Christmas day. Iana Zhdanova was freed Saturday after being seen by a Vatican prosecutor, according to the [Associated Press](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/27/femen-breasts-vatican-square%5Fn%5F6384580.html "undefined"). She has been ordered never to set foot in Vatican City or on any Vatican property outside of the city-state again. Zhdanova reportedly had the words “God is a Woman” written on her chest when she snatched the statue from St. Peter’s Square. Vatican police swiftly arrested Zhdanova, who is a member of the feminist group FEMEN. According to FEMEN’s [website,](http://femen.org/?attempt=1 "undefined") her protest was a part of their “Massacre of the Innocents” anticlerical campaign, which criticizes “the senturies-old Vatican stance on women’s rights for own body and reproductive function.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3647770/vatican-activist-baby-jesus-femen-topless/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3647770/vatican-activist-baby-jesus-femen-topless/"},"headline":"Vatican Frees Activist Who Stole Baby Jesus Statue While Topless","datePublished":"2014-12-27T18:42:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:08:41.766Z","description":"The FEMEN activist stole the statue topless with \"God is a Woman\" written across her bare chest","url":"https://time.com/3647770/vatican-activist-baby-jesus-femen-topless/","keywords":["vatican city"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6e91a12b9bfe7f3/69877747cd1bba14616f4620/ap953445534026.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6e91a12b9bfe7f3/69877747cd1bba14616f4620/ap953445534026.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vatican Activist Arrest","caption":"Vatican Activist Arrest","creditText":"AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/vatican-city/","name":"vatican city"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3647770/vatican-activist-baby-jesus-femen-topless/","name":"Vatican Frees Activist Who Stole Baby Jesus Statue While Topless"}}]}] ```