In 988 the figure of Jesus on a crucifix mysteriously began to
weep in the abbey of Pucelles at Orleans, France. No one was
surprised when soon afterwards a catastrophic fire devastated the
city. The weeping crucifix had been seen as a forewarning of
disaster.
Weeping and bleeding images are among the most frequently reported
miracles. A recent case occurred in Siracusa, Sicily, where a small
image of the Virgin Mary had been given to two newlyweds in the
spring of 1953. On 29 August, while pregnant and very ill, the wife
was praying before the statue when she saw tears trickling down its
face. The woman made a miraculous recovery. The weeping lasted four
days, and a delegation of police, doctors and priests witnessed the
miracle. It was recognised by the Church in December, and today a
special chapel houses Our Lady of the Tears.
Such phenomena are by no means confined to traditionally Catholic
countries. At Akita, Japan, a statue of the Virgin began to bleed
in June 1973. It also perspired, giving off a scent of lilies and
roses and later was seen weeping. This happened 101 times, until it
stopped in 1981. Four years later an image was seen to weep at
Naju, Korea. The owners of both statues were sick women, and the
phenomena were deemed expressions of sympathy by the Virgin
Mary.
Some people are known to have faked such miracles. In 1967 London
faith healer Alfred Bolton admitted his bleeding crucifix contained
strategically placed pieces of raw meat. In 1986 US physicist Shawn
Carlson, intrigued by reports that a weeping statue had drawn over
300,000 visitors to a Chicago church, set out to create a fake. At
a 1987 meeting of the American Committee for the Scientific Study
of Religion, he caused a sensation with a Mona Lisa that wept
tears. The technique was simple, he said, and the ingredients had
been readily available for centuries, but would not
elaborate.
In some cases believers may be genuinely deceived by natural
processes, such as the effect of condensation. Yet every year
produces a fresh crop of miraculous statues to challenge skeptics
and inspire believers.
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