The crying Virgin Mary statue at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, New Mexico. A Virgin Mary statue at a Hispanic Catholic church in southeastern New Mexico is drawing visitors from around the region because it appears tears are flowing from the statue’s face.
Visitors of the bronze statue located inside the auxiliary building of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church said the statue wept. “There were tears coming down her face again,” said church manager Judy Ronquillo, who was in the building last Tuesday when it took place.
Ronquillo said the statue began crying as the group inside the church finished a Rosary. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “The tears aren’t watery, they are an oil-like substance and the tears smell like roses.”
Fellow parishioner Laura Cisneros, who was with her family at the Sunday Mass when the statue began crying, was also present Tuesday. She says it was “amazing”.
Tuesday’s visitors came from throughout southeastern New Mexico and west Texas, as far as San Antonio and El Paso, Ronquillo said.
Odessa resident Brian Morales was one of them. He said he believes God saved his life in a car accident a year ago.
“God touched me,” Morales said. “Since I have seen him, I am a changed man and I felt the need to come here. He has me (alive) for a reason. I want to start college and eventually help people who are diagnosed with cancer. What’s happening here with the Virgin Mary is great.”
The church has not closed since the statue began weeping on May 20, Ronquillo said. Parishioners and church staff have taken turns watching the statue. The line to visit last Tuesday afternoon was around 100 people long and reached from one side of the auxiliary room to the next, near the building’s entrance.