A Weeping Virgin Mary

During the past week, there has been a real stir about a statue of the Virgin Mary that appears to be crying tears inside a library near Cincinnati, Ohio. In the back of Our Lady Queen of Reading, a religious lending library the statue is bringing tears to many visitors’ eyes. "I believe it's true. They were there. I saw them. It's true. I would imagine it's a miracle," said one visitor.

This past fall, The Our Lady of Fatima, the "Weeping Madonna", came to the city on a national tour of Catholic churches and schools. The statue was created in 1947 to spread the word of the Virgin Mother's message for the people.  On more than 30 occasions, it’s also been reported that this statue has been seen shedding tears. Photographs of these events have been documented around the world.

The Cincinnati Art Museum is also home to the “Retablo of St. Peter” (ca 1400) by Lorenzo Zaragoza (ca. 1340-1410), a massive 116 ¾” x 108 1/8” structure in tempera and gold leaf with 19 panels of images including a one of “The Virgin Weeping."

Some Cincinnatian's say all this religious attention is a sign of bad things to come. Others say the tears are a sign of hope for the city's future. Whatever it means, the latest tearful Virgin is not the first weeping Madonna seen in Cincinnati.