Worshippers in Ohio have been left stunned after a statue of the Virgin Mary commissioned more than 75 years ago appeared to blink as they gazed upon her – with photos capturing the mysterious moment.
The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was making its way across the region as part of a tour when it allegedly shut and open its eyes on August 2 while on display at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist.
The church is located in the city of Canton, known for being the birthplace of the NFL and home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The statue has visited more than 100 countries, including Russia and China, and is believed to be the closest likeness of a documented apparition of Mary in 1917 said to be ‘worthy of belief’ by the Catholic Church.
Many who have visited the statue have since claimed they’ve witnessed medical miracles, including a young boy some believe was cured of malaria.
Those in Northeast Ohio who claim they saw the gesture snapped a photo, which seemingly shows the idol mid-blink.
‘According to theologians, mystically her presence is there with the statue,’ said Katie Moran, who took the picture to post to social media.
Speaking to Fox affiliate WJW, she said: ‘I took it and thought, ‘that’s really nice’.
‘I took one more to be sure and when I looked at it, the eyes were closed,’ she continued.
‘I [went], ‘wow!”
Others, including Connie Liptak, claimed they saw the statue blink as well.
She told the local news station: ‘I knew it was a miracle because I’d been looking at her all morning.’
Pointing to the photos, she added: ‘They’re really closed. I mean, you can really see her lashes are down.’
Katie, who is also head of the USA branch of the organization that oversees the statues, further claimed the phenomenon was a sort of warning – one consistent with other miracles the idol is supposed to have worked.
‘For those who believe, no proof is necessary,’ she said, as reports of visitors being cured of plights ranging from cancer to infertility remain rife.
‘For those who don’t, no proof is possible,’ she added.
‘It’s faith and I believe.’
‘We know that she’s wept 15 times,’ added the statue’s custodian Larry Maginot, who follows the Holy Mother on her travels and says such occurrences, while rare, are not outside the norm.
Sharing a story about a three-year-old boy with incurable malaria supposedly healed by Our Lady of Fatima, Maginot recalled: ‘He said, ‘the doctors had given up on me.”
But when the boy’s father brought him before the statue during a visit to Vietnam, he said, ‘he ended up recovering.’
Already anticipating backlash from skeptics, Liptak told a reporter of what she might say in response.
‘I just say, ‘I don’t lie,’ she said.
‘I know what I’ve seen and I believe what I’ve seen.’
Taking into account the statue’s history and the occurrences surrounding its creation, there is some indication it is special.
It was sculpted by Jose Thedim – then known as ‘the Michelangelo of Portugal’ – in 1947, and 20 years later, was blessed by Pope St. Paul VI.
It has visited more than 100 countries – and thousands of churches – since.
Her image was achieved through the precise instructions of a nun who spoke to shepherds said to have witnessed the miracle that influenced its creation – an alleged appearance from the Blessed Mother more than 100 years ago.
Back then, in 1917, three peasant children near the village of Fátima, Portugal, were said to have encountered a woman who ‘identified herself as the Lady of the Rosary’ six separate times.
Each time, the trio was reportedly told that God would perform a miracle later that year, on October 13.
When that day came, a crowd of roughly 70,000 gathered in the town at the word of the youngsters in hopes of witnessing said miracle.
There, they reportedly saw the Sun fall down toward the Earth while also appearing to ‘dance’ and zig-zag across the sky.
According to reports, the phenomenon lasted some ten minutes, with newspaper articles at the time showing the crowd looking on in awe toward the alleged marvel.
The event has since been branded the ‘Miracle of the Sun’, and the children later claimed they never saw the Mother Mary again.
They said Mary told them the miracle would be administered to make others believe, and 13 years later, Bishop José da Silva deemed the incident ‘worthy of belief’.
It was was declared to be of ‘supernatural character’ – leaving the statue to be constructed soon after.
It is still respected and revered to this day, with reports of healing and miracles following her wherever she goes.
While many of the reports have spurred criticism and scrutiny, it is clear the churchgoers in Canton are adamant they know what they saw.
