CANBERRA - A hollow fibreglass statue of the Virgin Mary bought as a souvenir in Buddhist Thailand and now enshrined in an industrial suburb in Perth is claimed to be weeping rose-scented tears.
In the latest and, perhaps, one of the most unlikely of the Virgin's visitations,thousands of Catholics have been queuing to see and touch the figure bought eight years ago by 47-year-old Cathy Powell, of Rockingham.
At least one ailing man has claimed to have received a health-promoting boost to his blood count after rubbing some of the oil-like "tears" on his forehead.
"It looks like a miracle," Parish priest Henry Walsh said.
"There is no source for this oil."
About 3000 people lined up at the weekend to see the statue at the local Our Lady of Lourdes Church for a two-hour viewing after a story in the Perth newspaper the West Australian.
With the queue stretching 150m, officials opened a nearby park for extra parking.
The statue is claimed to have first "wept" on March 19, and to begin shedding tears regularly last month.
At first Powell thought the tears might have been a personal revelation from the Virgin.
But she said that when the statue began weeping regularly in front of other witnesses she realised that it was a miracle for all to see.
"I cried the first time [the statue wept]," Powell told reporters as the faithful waited for up to an hour for a chance to see the statue.
"It felt like my own mother was crying. It was a very humbling experience and really blew me away."
So far, the Catholic Church has declined to comment officially.
But Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey said after viewing the statue that the secretion of rose-scented tears from its eyes was a "truly remarkable phenomenon".
He told the Perth Catholic newspaper the Record that he was unsure whether the tears were of natural or supernatural origin.
But he said the sight of the statue weeping tears had had a powerful spiritual impact, causing many people to return to God.
