Mother Mary statue bought from PHL to Sabah sheds tears —report

A 33-centimeter statue of Mother Mary bought from the Philippines is attracting crowds in Sabah after it reportedly shed tears starting this week, a Malaysian news site reported Friday.

Several visitors went to a house in Kampung Mahandoi in Penampang, Kota Kinabalu to take photos of the supposed crying statue, Malaysia's The Star Online reported.

But the local church is still assessing the situation, the report added.

The report said the statue started shedding droplets on Monday, March 2. Droplets appeared again Thursday, it added.

“I didn’t believe it at first until I actually saw the tears. I was astonished as I never expected anything like this I felt it was something miraculous,” said Michael George, 52.

He said his 14-year-old son first noticed the droplets on the statue.

George said his sister-in-law bought the statue last year, during a trip to the Philippines. She kept it in her house since his house was being renovated at the time.

He said they recently brought the statue to his house and had it blessed by Sabah Archbishop John Wong last Sunday.

Since then, he said some 100 visitors arrived daily to pray the rosary in front of the statue.

Social media

Visitors flocked to the house after learning of it via social media apps including WhatsApp, the report said.

However, Sacred Heart Cathedral assistant parish priest Fr. Jefferi Gumu said the priests are assessing the situation.

“We will ask the owner to consider keeping it in a nearby church where it could be viewed and assessed as well,” he added. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News