The leaders of the Catholic church in New Mexico have said they can’t explain why the seven-foot-tall bronze statue of the Virgin Mary appears to be “weeping.”
However investigator with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruses said the sculpture, known locally as Our Lady of Guadalupe, is not crying human tears.
The investigator said her “tears” have the same chemical makeup as olive oil treated with perfume — a substance that, when blessed, would be chrism, a sacred oil used in the Catholic Church to anoint parishioners.
The strange event started on Pentecost Sunday on May 20, when parishioners at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Hobbs noticed that there appeared to be tears streaming from the Virgin Mary’s eyes. Judy Ronquillo, a member of the church said the statue continued “weeping” the next day — something that she said has since occurred several more times, Washington Post reports.