17th May : Our Lady Of Tears
17th May
Our Lady Of Tears
Country : Italy
Year : 1953
In March, 1953, Antonia and Angelo Giusto received a small terra cotta plaque of the Madonna as a wedding present. Our Lady is depicted with a flaming heart and a sad look. By summer Antonia was pregnant and was feeling faint and dizzy most of the time. She was forced to lie idle for days. She lay on the bed and talked with the little statue which was on a wall shelf. On August 29, she was amazed to see tears coming from the eyes of the statue. Three women, friends of the family, were called, and they, too, saw the tears. Except for short intervals the tears continued to flow for four days. They stopped at 11:30 on September 1.
Word of the phenomenon spread through Sicily and Italy. Huge throngs came to the house. The statue was placed in the public square not far from the Giusto home. Hundreds of physical cures have been claimed. The tears were analyzed and found to be the same composition of human tears.
On December 12, 1953, the hierarchy of Sicily issued a statement in which they “unanimously judged that the weeping cannot be held in doubt.” They asked for a “sanctuary which will perpetuate the miracle”. Osservatore Romano, a Vatican City Daily, printed the statement without comment. On the day the statement was issued, the Madonna was seen to weep twice.
