Catholic protesters have forced the cancellation of an exhibit in New York showing a naked Jesus sculpted from chocolate.

The sculpture My Sweet Lord, by Cosimo Cavallaro, an artist who grew up in Montreal and Italy, had provoked thousands of protests by Catholics, including Cardinal Edward Egan.

My Sweet Lord, a chocolate statue by Cosimo Cavallaro of a naked Jesus, hangs at Ranieris Sculpture Casting studio on Thursday in New York.
(Mary Altaffer/Associated Press)

The display was shut down by the hotel that houses the Lab Gallery in midtown Manhattan, which planned to exhibit My Sweet Lord starting next Monday, the day after Palm Sunday.

Matt Semler, the gallery's creative director, has submitted his resignation over the incident, saying the gallery was being strong-armed by people who haven't seen the show.

"They jumped to conclusions completely contrary to our intentions," he said.

The Catholic League had urged members to boycott the hotel, and the hotel was concerned about security amid the chorus of criticism, Semler said.

The hotel and gallery were flooded with phone calls and e-mails after the League for Religious and Civil Rights, a watchdog group, said the naked sculpture was offensive.

"This is one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever," said Bill Donohue, head of the Catholic League.

"It's not just the ugliness of the portrayal, but the timing — to choose Holy Week is astounding." The statue was to be on display from April 2-7, with a special showing on Easter Sunday.

Cardinal Egan described it as "a sickening display."

My Sweet Lord is a 1.8-metre representation of Jesus with his arms outstretched as if on the cross. Unlike many crucifixion scenes in religious art, this Jesus is shown without a loincloth.

Cavallaro, who has made works out of rubber, cheese and ham, made the lifelike sculpture of Jesus Christ out of 90 kg of chocolate, a confection often associated with Easter in the shape of bunnies and eggs.

He said he was disappointed the display will not go ahead.

Cavallaro, a former filmmaker in Montreal, has been living and working in New York since 1995. In addition to his sculptures of Twiggy and a pair of boots in cheese and a four-poster bed festooned with ham, he has created works in steel, rubber and other materials.