A bronze statue of the Virgin Mary in the small parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Hobbs, New Mexico made famous for reportedly crying is once again miraculously weeping.
Three months ago, a statue of the Virgin Mary made headlines for crying miraculous tears resembling olive oil and smelling faintly of chrism – with no earthly explanation behind its origin. The statute wept three times and an investigation was launched into the occurrence to determine if it was miraculous in origin.
Devotees say the bronze Our Lady of Guadalupe statue was seen once again shedding tears for a fourth time in the early morning last Saturday. Many gathered to witness the statue crying, and the rosary was prayed in it’s presence.
The Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces was charged with the investigation, with Bishop Oscar Cantú directing diocese personnel to examine the statue and have the tears analyzed. Last week, Bishop Cantú gave an update on the investigation just a few days it wept for the fourth time.
“The statue is made of bronze. As the hollow interior was examined, nothing was found on the interior that could have created liquid. There were cobwebs in the hollow interior.”
According to Cantú, tests done on the tears collected from the statue discovered they are chemically identical to Sacred Chrism.
“The liquid samples collected from the statue were sent to a lab for chemical analysis. Two distinct methods of analysis indicate the same outcome: the liquid is olive oil with a scented mixture, chemically, to the Sacred Chrism.”
Cantú said the first phase of the investigation has ruled out natural causes, finding no evidence to suggest someone planted the tears on the statue. The next phase involves discerning if the cause is supernatural:
“If the cause of the phenomenon is supernatural, we must discern if it is from God or from the devil. I remind you that the Church believes in the existence of fallen angels, who at times try to trick us …. The discernment of whether it is a phenomenon from God or from the evil one is a longer process. The devil can sometimes imitate holy things in order to confuse us. So, we must be prudent and vigilant …. Thus, the investigation is not yet complete so to make a definitive pronouncement.”
