Pilgrims Flock To Weeping Virgin In Australia
[Original headline: Weeping statue draws crowds]
AA- A fibreglass statue of the Virgin Mary bought in Thailand eight years ago has attracted hundreds of sick visitors to the suburban Perth home of Patty Powell.
The statue has been claimed by many to be a miracle because it appears to drip a rose-scented oil-like substance from the eyes.
Ms Powell said when the statue first cried on March 19 this year, she became overwhelmed with grief.
"I cried the first time, it felt like my own mother was crying, it was a very humbling experience and really blew me away," she said.
Ms Powell said she was not sure whether it was a personal revelation she had witnessed until the statue "cried again" over the Easter period.
She said the statue, which she said she bought for about $150 at a religious shop in Bangkok, has since been weeping continuously.
"I knew in my heart then what was happening and thought that that maybe this was supposed to be seen by more people than just me."
Since then, hundreds of people have made the pilgrimage to Ms Powell's Rockingham home where she has set up a shrine to the Our Lady of Lourdes church to see the statue on display and to touch some of the oil.
"The people who come to see her (the statue) are so devout and so reverent, it feels as if my life is just beginning."
She said that she did not know whether the statue would continue to weep or whether she would move it from her home but wanted to take things on a "day to day basis at this stage".
Ms Powell said Catholic Archbishop Barry Hickey had seen the statue but had said that as yet, no official proceedings would be made to have the its powers formally recognised by the church.
• Story originally published by:
News.com.au / Australia - Sept 8.02
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