If she was praying TO the statue, that's not Catholicism. If contemplating the statue while she prayed helped her to focus her mind on the virtues of Saint Anthony, it really doesn't matter that it looks like an actor instead of a convention portrayal of St. Anthony, which likely doesn't look exactly like the man himself anyway.
Either way, you managed to take a story that provides a chuckle and wring a snide comment out of it. I hope your life isn't as amaroidal in reality as it comes across on FR.