Aylan Kurdi: Drowned Syrian refugee boy features in nativity scene in Madrid, Spain

Most people will remember the heartrending image of a young Syrian boy, washed up on a Turkish beach as his family fled from Syria, hoping to reach Europe.

Now three-year-old Aylan Kurdi has been immortalized as a part of a nativity scene created by a Madrid church to highlight the plight of Syrian refugees this Christmas.

It was back in early September this year that the little boy washed ashore and his photograph, lying face-down in the sand, went viral on the social media and online news websites. The image was seen across the world by an estimated 20 million people and the backlash galvanized European governments, including that of Spain, to take action on behalf of the Syrian refugees.

Now the San Anton Church in Madrid's Chueca district, renowned as a forward thinking church where pets are welcome and where the faithful can make their confessions via iPad, has now incorporated the image of the young boy in their nativity scene.

Nuestro #Belén Solidario está abierto 24 horas como nuestra iglesia de San Antón en Hortaleza 63. pic.twitter.com/chxFOd1vcX

— Mensajeros de la Paz (@Padre__Angel) December 14, 2015

Aylan takes the place of the baby Jesus, and his grief-stricken parents take the roles of Mary and Joseph, looking over the child. Instead of a stable, the family are sheltered in a refugee tent with reproductions of drawings by refugee children of their journeys on the walls.

It was Spanish artist Ikella Alonso who designed the nativity scene for the Messengers of Peace Foundation, an NGO working with the refugees and the scene can be visited by anyone up until January 6th. The church, located on Calle Hortaleza is open 24 hours every day.