Camiguin Virgin Mary sheds ‘tears of blood’

LILOAN, Camiguin Province – Parishioners and tourists alike have come in droves to visit a chapel in Camiguin where a statue of the Virgin Mary has reportedly “cried blood” and manifested changes in her figure since Tuesday morning.

The chapel is situated at Liloan, Catarman town in the Island Province of Camiguin where, on Tuesday morning, a certain Jane Roquesa Sia reported the “miraculous crying of blood” of the patron saint “Birhen sa Lourdes (Virgin of Lourdes).”

Sia, who lives in the neighborhood, said she went inside the chapel early Tuesday, carrying her six-month-old baby, for her regular morning prayers.

She said her attention was caught by the unusual reaction of her baby whose eyes seemed transfixed on the statue of the Virgin Mary.

And when she looked at the statue, she was surprised to see “blood coming out from the eyes of the statue.”

Aside from “crying blood,” parishioners said the hands of the Virgin Mary, which were supposedly clasped together, are now separated.

Fr. Ricardo Dancila, parish priest of Liloan, refused to comment on the changes on the statue of Virgin Mary, pending evaluation of the supposed “miracle” by higher Church authorities.

Local tourists had different reactions over the incident.

Some said the Virgin Mary was manifesting dissatisfaction over the low number of people who attended mass when the town recently celebrated its fiesta.

Others said it was not blood that came out of the eyes of the statue of Mary.

They said it was just liquid that seeped out of a crack on the face of the statue.