On the edge of the vast Chihuahuan Desert lies the small town Hobbs, New Mexico. There are many churches there, including Our Lady of Guadalupe. The church itself has a modest interior with the classic aisle and altar which provides services in English and Spanish and it's highlight is the brass statue of Our Lady herself. The statue is rendered in gold with a green shawl, but what makes her unique is in May 2018, the statue wept.
HISTORY
Since at least the 1600s Catholics have reported statues of Nari that appear to spontaneously weep. These crying statues have been reported all over the world from France to Italy to the United States.
However, observers should always be aware that fakes have been created to invoke an emotional response (invoke belief or fear), and draw in crowds to increase revenue.
One of the earliest recorded instances of a weeping statue was in 1643 in Rottweil, Germany, when it was under siege from the French. 42 men and women crowded into the Dominican church begging God for salvation as they spoke to Mary - the Statue of the Madonna and Child. Catholics and non-Catholics saw her eyes move and she wept. In 1802 the statue was transfered to the City’s main Church, the Holy Cross Münster. Nearly 400 years later, Mary continues to weep, although no tests have been allowed on the statue.
RECENT HISTORY
In 1995, a Virgin Mary statue Civitavecchia, Italy shed blood tears on 14 occasions, witnessed by over 60 people. The blood was found to be male but the owner, Fabio Gregori, refused to take a DNA test.
In 2003, a Bangladeshi statue of Mary at Patharghata, southeastern Chittagong, began to weep, drawing thousands of onlookers.
In 2017, a statue in Telangana, India, dripped red liquid from the eyes.
In 2018, a statue of Jesus Christ began weeping at the Church of Our Lady of Velankanni, Mumbai.
OUR LADY
Back in Hobbs, New Mexico. The Our Lady statue cried for over a month. Onlookers, gathered to pay respects and noticed a strong smell coming from the liquid, which turned out to be a mixture of oil and Balsam called The Sacred Chrism. The oil is used for anointment and ceremonial purposes within the church. The statue was closely examined, including the hollow interior, but no source of the liquid was found.
Then, the tears dried up. Yet the oil mixture returned in September. Despite a lack of formal acknowledgement from church authorities Our Lady of Guadalupe continues to draw crowds today, desperate to see her cry.
Are the weeping statues a religious miracle, is there a plausible explanantion waiting to be discovered, or is there deception at play?
SOURCES:
https://dnbstories.com/2018/04/water-from-statue-of-jesus-in-india-truth.html
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/this-statue-is-weeping-and-they-found-something-awkward-when...
https://anastpaul.com/2021/11/10/89523/
https://metro.co.uk/2003/02/18/crowds-throng-to-weeping-statue-142427/
https://www.historicmysteries.com/weeping-statue/
https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/weeping-statues