Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
FORLI, Italy, Mar 22, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Police and Catholic Church officials are investigating claims a statue of the Virgin Mary in an Italian church cried tears of blood.
Worshippers reported what looked like red tears to the local bishop of the Santa Lucia Church in Forli, Italy last week. The Italian news agency ANSA reports the bishop replaced the statue with another one and took the original into his office where it hasn't "wept" since.
Monsignor Franco Zaghini said police are running tests.
He said it was important to get clear results both for scientific and criminal purposes.
Since Pope John Paul II consecrated a shrine in 1994 honoring a supposedly "weeping Madonna" in Sicily in the 1950s, hundreds of copycats have attempted to get theirs honored.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
