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Church’s statue of Mary appears to cry blood

AP, via the Chicago Sun-Times, USA
Nov. 27, 2005
Juliet Williams
www.suntimes.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Monday November 28, 2005

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Carrying rosary beads and cameras, the faithful have been coming in a steady stream to a church on the outskirts of Sacramento for a glimpse of what some are calling a miracle: A statue of the Virgin Mary they say has begun crying a substance that looks like blood.

It was first noticed more than a week ago, when a priest at the Vietnamese Catholic Martyrs Church spotted a stain on the statue’s face and wiped it away. Before mass on Nov. 20, people again noticed a reddish substance near the eyes of the white concrete statue outside the small church, said Ky Truong, 56, a parishioner.

‘Big event in the future’

Since then, Truong said, he has been at the church day and night, so emotional he can’t even work. He believes the tears are a sign.

”There’s a big event in the future — earthquake, flood, a disease,” Truong said. ”We’re very sad.”

On Saturday, tables in front of the fenced-in statue were jammed with potted plants, bouquets of roses and candles. Some people prayed silently, while others sang hymns and hugged their children. An elderly woman in a wheelchair wept near the front of the crowd.

A red trail could be seen from the side of the statue’s left eye to about halfway down the robe of concrete.

”I think that it’s incredible. It’s a miracle. Why is she doing it?” asked Maria Vasquez, 35.