Members of the Community of Faith Church based in Houston, Texas gathered together in early July to burn a demonic statue that had been left at their church after a recent robbery, The Blaze reports.

The church was robbed in late June and shortly after that members found a small ‘Santa Muerte’ statue had been inserted into the church’s Gazebo. Church members believe it was done to curse the church.

The Santa Muerte, also known as Our Lady of Holy Death, emerged in Mexico in the mid-twentieth century. It has taken on a cult-like status by some members of the Roman Catholic Church who look upon it as a saint and hold celebrations for it.

Santa Muerte, which is often portrayed as a female skeleton figure, has been officially rejected and criticized by the Roman Catholic Church which referred to it as “the celebration of devastation and of hell.”

Nevertheless, it is venerated by members of the Mexican cartel and other criminals as they believe it will escort them safely to heaven after death.

After the discovery of the statue, the church held a ceremony where it officially burnt the statue and prayed for the church.

“We destroyed the works of the devil,” said Bishop James Dixon in an interview with KHOU-11. “We’ve never had this before. So it hurts, you know, to know that this church does so much good for so many people.”

According to Wikipedia, there are upwards of 20 million people in Mexico, Latin America, the US, and Canada who actively participate in ceremonies associated with Santa Muerte.

READ: Texas church members set fire to ‘demonic’ statue found a week after robbery: ‘We destroyed the works of the devil!’