The Demon in the Statue…'Weeping' statue shown in South Lyon

The Demon in the Statue…



Weeping' statue shown in South Lyon


Oct. 16, 2013 3:06 AM   |  





A statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which is said to weep, was on display Tuesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in South Lyon. / HAL GOULD/GANNETT MICHIGAN
Written by
Diane Gale Andreassi
Gannett Michigan

On Tuesday morning, Barb Damiani, was among the first of the faithful to visit a statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which is said to weep, while it was on display at St. Joseph Catholic Church in South Lyon.


Damiani, who is visiting South Lyon from Arizona, said she had read about the statue and felt it was a “blessing” to see it.


“I’m looking to move back,” Damiani said. “We’re house hunting and we have a lot to pray for.”


Damiani was among a steady stream who came to pray Tuesday at St. Joseph. The statue, which has been to parishes around the world, has been shown at churches in the Archdiocese of Detroit since Oct. 1; future stops are slated through Monday. Believers said that on more than 30 occasions, the statue shed human tears.


The miracle of the tears isn’t necessarily thefocus, said the Rev. Stan Tokarski, St. Joseph pastor.


“If someone comes for sensation, it’s the wrong place and the wrong time,” he said.


The statue began traveling the world in 1947 with the message of peace. A shrine has been erected in Portugal where three children at Fatima during the summer of 1917 said they saw a vision of Virgin Mary. The faithful still visit the location.


Three children reported that beginning on May 13, 1917, and on the 13th of each month until Oct. 13, Mary gave the world a message called the “Peace Plan from Heaven.”


The world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was sculpted in 1947 based on the description of Sr. Lucia, one of the three young seers who said she saw Mary, Jesus’ mother, each month from May to October 1917 in Fatima, Portugal.


A pamphlet distributed when the statue is visiting a parish explains that the statue is said to bring the Message of Fatima to the world. The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue has traveled the world many times, visiting more than 100 countries.


Leaving St. Joseph Tuesday morning, Kathy Kepshire of South Lyon said, “Mary is very special to me. I have made a consecration to Jesus through her. I pray to her a lot.”


Tokarski said when he was offered a chance to display the statue for the day, his response was, “Yes, just like her response was, ‘Yes,’ ” when an angel asked her to be the mother of God.


“It’s a chance for people to come throughout the day and pray — it feels so peaceful and restful,” Tokarski said. “Anytime there’s something like this, people have their own miracles. It’s not about the weeping.”




http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20131016/NEWS01/310160014/-Weeping-statue-shown-South-Lyon