Bizarre moment man sprints through a packed church carrying a toddler onto an altar and leaving the child beneath Virgin Mary statue
A video has emerged of a man in Spain running through a packed church to place a toddler beneath a Virgin Mary in Tenerife.
The unidentified man can be seen running towards the altar with a child – believed to be his son – in his arms, before placing it beneath statue. The bizarre incident came as hundreds of worshippers were marking the holy Octava del Carmen service in the San Agustin neighbourhood of Los Realejos, a town on the Spanish island of Tenerife, on July 30.
As the congregation watches on in horror, the footage shows the man sprinting down the aisle with the tot on his shoulders. Wearing just shorts and a T-shirt, the man shrugs off officials trying to stop him and begins to climb the shrine to get to the statue on the altar.
Then, as the congregation gasps in horror, the statue starts to wobble but rights itself as the confused youngster is left standing at the Virgin Mary’s feet. The man then jumps back to the ground as the footage ends. He tried to leave the church but was reportedly stopped by service goers who convinced him to take the toddler back from the shrine.
The man appeared to be very distressed and crossed himself repeatedly as he walked back to the altar. He then reportedly turned to the attendees and kneeled before asking for forgiveness. The parishioners reportedly applauded as he left.
The baffling offering happened during an ‘Octava del Carmen’ mass, a Catholic service celebrating an event when an apparition of the Virgin Mary is said to have saved the town of Carmelo from drought.
Clarifying as to why this happens, one Reddit user commented: ‘For anyone confused as to what is happening here, there are traditions in Spain where the more fanatical worshippers send babies and children over crowds so that they will touch the virgin. The idea being that physical proximity will make the virgin protect them in future life.’