Orlando, Fla., Apr 25, 2007 / 08:31 am
Officials of the Diocese of Orlando are expected to visit a local shop and verify a marble statue of the Virgin Mary that has allegedly shed a black tear.
Castle Designs, an Orlando business, received the reproduction of Michelangelo’s Pieta — the famous sculpture of the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Christ — two weeks ago from overseas.
The black tear was just recently noticed at the store and owners said it appears to be coming from inside the statue, reported WKMG Local 6 News.
"We started noticing that there was a small gray line every day that kept getting darker and darker," Castle Designs CEO Les Roberts said.
Store owners say officials from the diocese plan to come to the store and look at the statue. The business has also offered the diocese the option to display the statue.
Groups of people have already come to the store to pray before the statue, which has been roped off. Store owners have decided not to sell it.