Weeping statue
Encyclopedia
A weeping statue is a statue
which has been claimed to be shedding tears
or weeping by supernatural means. Statues weeping tears of a substance which appears to be human blood
, oil, and scented liquids have all been reported. Other claimed phenomena are sometimes associated with weeping statues such as miraculous healing, the formation of figures in the tear lines, and the scent of roses. These events are generally reported by some Christians, and initially attract some pilgrims, but are in most cases disallowed by the upper levels of the Church or proven as hoaxes.
Reported weeping statues are most often of the Virgin Mary and are at times accompanied by claims of Marian apparitions. However, to date only one single example of a combined weeping statue and apparition (namely Our Lady of Akita
) has been approved by the Vatican
and the rest have usually been dismissed as hoaxes. An unusual nature of the Our Lady of Akita
apparitions was that unlike other cases the entire nation of Japan was able to view the tears of the statue of the Virgin Mary on national television.
For instance when a statue of the popular Saint Padre Pio in Messina, Sicily was found to have tears of blood one day in 2002, Church officials quickly ordered tests that showed the blood belonged to a woman and then dismissed the case as a hoax. Even at the local level, Catholic priests have expelled people who claim weeping statues from their local Church.
Skeptics point to the fact that making a fake weeping statue is relatively easy. At some skeptic conferences, "do it yourself weeping statue kits" are on sale. Skeptics have provided examples of weeping statues that have been obvious hoax
es.
Weeping statues have also been dismissed by rationalists
as a purely psychological and/or fraud
ulent phenomenon. The witnesses are said to be deluded by their own state of mind or strong group suggestion. In this altered state of mind, they believe they see something that isn't really there.
Another possible explanation attributes the so-called tears to condensation. The tears that statues appear to weep are said to actually be beads of condensation from microscopic cracks on the surface of the statues. Unpublished reports of the testing have supposedly been able to verify this theory, but peer reviewed scientific research is rarely, if ever, carried out into the phenomenon.
A number of weeping statues have been declared fake by Catholic church officials.
In 1995, a Madonna statue appeared to weep blood in the town of Civitavecchia
in Italy. About 60 witnesses testified to witnessing the miracle. The local bishop said that he himself had seen it weep. The blood on the statue was later found to be male. The statue’s owner, Fabio Gregori, refused to take a DNA test. After the Civitavecchia case, dozens of reputedly miraculous statues were reported. Almost all were shown to be hoaxes, where blood, red paint, or water was splashed on the faces of the statues.
In 2008 church custodian Vincenzo Di Costanzo went on trial in northern Italy for faking blood on a statue of the Virgin Mary when his own DNA was matched to the blood.
was declared as worthy of belief by the Holy Office in 1988, and remains the only weeping statue recognized by the Holy Office.
The following is a list of the more publicized claims. The veracity of these claims is difficult to establish and many have been declared hoaxes by Church officials.
As with weeping statues, the tears exuded are often said to be of a substance which appears to be similar to blood. A painting of the Virgin Mary is said to have exuded moisture from the eyes and the fingers at St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church in Chicago
on December 6, 1986. The event gained international attention and drew many onlookers to the church. The moisture ceased in July 1987, but resumed a year later at which time 19 other icons were said to have also started weeping after being "anointed" with the painting's moisture. A painting of Mary on plywood was said to have wept on March 10, 1992 in Barberton
, Ohio
; annual pilgrimages celebrating the event were still in practice as late as 2002. Another painting of the Virgin Mary which drew many visitors to Christ of the Hills Monastery near Blanco
, Texas
in the 1980s was said to weep myrrh
, but was uncovered as a fraud in the 2000s.
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
which has been claimed to be shedding tears
Tears
Tears are secretions that clean and lubricate the eyes. Lacrimation or lachrymation is the production or shedding of tears....
or weeping by supernatural means. Statues weeping tears of a substance which appears to be human blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
, oil, and scented liquids have all been reported. Other claimed phenomena are sometimes associated with weeping statues such as miraculous healing, the formation of figures in the tear lines, and the scent of roses. These events are generally reported by some Christians, and initially attract some pilgrims, but are in most cases disallowed by the upper levels of the Church or proven as hoaxes.
Reported weeping statues are most often of the Virgin Mary and are at times accompanied by claims of Marian apparitions. However, to date only one single example of a combined weeping statue and apparition (namely Our Lady of Akita
Our Lady of Akita
Our Lady of Akita is the title of Marian apparitions reported in 1973 bySister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa in the remote area of Yuzawadai, near the city of Akita in Japan. The messages emphasize prayer and penance. Sister Sasagawa stated that the Virgin Mary told her: "Pray very much the prayers of the...
) has been approved by the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
and the rest have usually been dismissed as hoaxes. An unusual nature of the Our Lady of Akita
Our Lady of Akita
Our Lady of Akita is the title of Marian apparitions reported in 1973 bySister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa in the remote area of Yuzawadai, near the city of Akita in Japan. The messages emphasize prayer and penance. Sister Sasagawa stated that the Virgin Mary told her: "Pray very much the prayers of the...
apparitions was that unlike other cases the entire nation of Japan was able to view the tears of the statue of the Virgin Mary on national television.
Hoaxes and skepticism
Authorities of the Catholic Church have been very careful in their approach and treatment of weeping statues, and generally set very high barriers for their acceptance.For instance when a statue of the popular Saint Padre Pio in Messina, Sicily was found to have tears of blood one day in 2002, Church officials quickly ordered tests that showed the blood belonged to a woman and then dismissed the case as a hoax. Even at the local level, Catholic priests have expelled people who claim weeping statues from their local Church.
Skeptics point to the fact that making a fake weeping statue is relatively easy. At some skeptic conferences, "do it yourself weeping statue kits" are on sale. Skeptics have provided examples of weeping statues that have been obvious hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
es.
Weeping statues have also been dismissed by rationalists
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
as a purely psychological and/or fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
ulent phenomenon. The witnesses are said to be deluded by their own state of mind or strong group suggestion. In this altered state of mind, they believe they see something that isn't really there.
Another possible explanation attributes the so-called tears to condensation. The tears that statues appear to weep are said to actually be beads of condensation from microscopic cracks on the surface of the statues. Unpublished reports of the testing have supposedly been able to verify this theory, but peer reviewed scientific research is rarely, if ever, carried out into the phenomenon.
A number of weeping statues have been declared fake by Catholic church officials.
In 1995, a Madonna statue appeared to weep blood in the town of Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...
in Italy. About 60 witnesses testified to witnessing the miracle. The local bishop said that he himself had seen it weep. The blood on the statue was later found to be male. The statue’s owner, Fabio Gregori, refused to take a DNA test. After the Civitavecchia case, dozens of reputedly miraculous statues were reported. Almost all were shown to be hoaxes, where blood, red paint, or water was splashed on the faces of the statues.
In 2008 church custodian Vincenzo Di Costanzo went on trial in northern Italy for faking blood on a statue of the Virgin Mary when his own DNA was matched to the blood.
List of weeping statues
A very small number of weeping statues have been recognized by the Catholic Church, e.g. in Syracuse Sicily the 1949 shedding of tears from a statue was recognized by the Catholic bishops of Sicily on August 29, 1953. Our Lady of AkitaOur Lady of Akita
Our Lady of Akita is the title of Marian apparitions reported in 1973 bySister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa in the remote area of Yuzawadai, near the city of Akita in Japan. The messages emphasize prayer and penance. Sister Sasagawa stated that the Virgin Mary told her: "Pray very much the prayers of the...
was declared as worthy of belief by the Holy Office in 1988, and remains the only weeping statue recognized by the Holy Office.
The following is a list of the more publicized claims. The veracity of these claims is difficult to establish and many have been declared hoaxes by Church officials.
| Date | Location | Claims | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Syracuse, New York | human tears — unverified | http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,856210,00.html |
| June 1985 | Naju Naju Naju is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea.The capital of South Jeolla was located at Naju until it was moved to Gwangju in 1895. The name Jeolla actually originates from the first character of Jeonju and the first character of Naju . Dongshin University is situated in Naju... , South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
tears of human blood, rejected by local bishop | Catholic News http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=52483 |
| April 1997 till present | Platina Platina Platina is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 is 2,866 and the area is 328.68 km². The elevation is 466 m.... , Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... |
statue of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Our Lady of the Sacred Heart may refer to:*A title of Mary *Abbey of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, in Westmalle, Belgium*Basilica of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Issoudun, France; Mexico City; and Sittard, Netherlands... sheds a red liquid - unverified |
http://nossasenhoradaplatina.zip.net/ http://nossasenhoradaplatina.nafoto.net/ http://christiano-jabur.blogspot.com/2003/04/our-lady-of-platina.html |
| March 2002 | Messina, Sicily Sicily Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,... |
statue of Pio of Pietrelcina Pio of Pietrelcina Saint Pio of Pietrelcina was a Capuchin priest from Italy who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He was born Francesco Forgione, and given the name Pio when he joined the Capuchins; he was popularly known as Padre Pio after his ordination to the priesthood. He became famous for his ... shed a red liquid, but was rejected by the Vatican |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1858430.stm http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article1081044.ece |
| September 2002 | Rockingham Rockingham, Western Australia Rockingham is a suburb and primary centre in Western Australia south-west of the Perth city centre and south of Fremantle. It has a beachside location at Mangles Bay, the southern extremity of Cockburn Sound. To its north stretches the maritime and resource-industry installations of Kwinana and... , Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
wept scented tears, apparitions, accepted. | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2255713.stm http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17659402-1245,00.html http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,21646985-2761,00.html |
| February 2003 | Chittagong Chittagong Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading... , Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south... |
unverified | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2775461.stm |
| September 2004 | Baalbek Baalbek Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude , situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire... , Lebanon Lebanon Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among... |
appearance of scented oil, blinked and claimed a cure — not verified | http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=8130 |
| November 2005 | Sacramento Sacramento, California Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,... , California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... |
tears of blood, called a hoax on the Paula Zahn TV show | http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_326014939.html |
| March 2006 onwards | Kerala, India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... |
tears of blood, appearance of oil, honey, milk — not verified | http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4625058001623228874 |
| January 2006 till present | Borġ in-Nadur Borġ in-Nadur Borġ in-Nadur is a Tarxien megalithic temple in open fields, overlooking St George’s Bay, near Birzebbuga, Malta. The site is now closed to the public and its preservation is the responsibility of Heritage Malta... , Birżebbuġa Birzebbuga Birżebbuġa is a small but flourishing seaside resort not far from Marsaxlokk in south-east Malta. It is approximately 8 miles from the City of Valletta. Popular among Maltese holiday-makers for decades, this village is perhaps best known for its important archaeological sites, especially Għar... , Malta Malta Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in... , |
tears of blood, appearance of oil, salt - unverified, self published claims | http://www.borgin-nadur.org/en/bidu.php |
| November 2010 | Windsor, Ontario Windsor, Ontario Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor... , Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
appearance of oil, "smiles during the day" and excreted oil claimed to heal | http://www.windsorstar.com/life/Weeping+Virgin+Mary+statue+draws+hundreds+worshippers+Windsor+residence/3760753/story.html |
Weeping paintings
Weeping paintings are a related phenomenon, but to date not a single case of a weeping painting has been approved either by the Roman Catholic or Coptic churches and most instances have turned out to be hoaxes.As with weeping statues, the tears exuded are often said to be of a substance which appears to be similar to blood. A painting of the Virgin Mary is said to have exuded moisture from the eyes and the fingers at St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
on December 6, 1986. The event gained international attention and drew many onlookers to the church. The moisture ceased in July 1987, but resumed a year later at which time 19 other icons were said to have also started weeping after being "anointed" with the painting's moisture. A painting of Mary on plywood was said to have wept on March 10, 1992 in Barberton
Barberton, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,899 people, 11,523 households, and 7,443 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,095.2 people per square mile . There were 12,163 housing units at an average density of 1,349.4 per square mile...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
; annual pilgrimages celebrating the event were still in practice as late as 2002. Another painting of the Virgin Mary which drew many visitors to Christ of the Hills Monastery near Blanco
Blanco, Texas
Blanco is a city in Blanco County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,205 at the 2010 census. The region Devil's Backbone is located nearby in the colorful Texas Hill Country....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in the 1980s was said to weep myrrh
Myrrh
Myrrh is the aromatic oleoresin of a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus Commiphora, which grow in dry, stony soil. An oleoresin is a natural blend of an essential oil and a resin. Myrrh resin is a natural gum....
, but was uncovered as a fraud in the 2000s.
External links
- Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims on the Paranormal
- Photographs of statues claimed to be weeping
- James Randi, Investigating Miracles, Italian-Style Scientific American, February 1996 http://www.luigigarlaschelli.it/Press/sciam.htm
- Church Says Weeping Statues Fake
- "The 'new' idolatry" Joe Nickell investigates and exposes numerous weeping statue hoaxes.
- Why does The Madonna Weep?