Hundreds of believers are traveling to Hobbs, New Mexico, to witness a miracle inside a Catholic Church. Parishioners noticed that a statue of the Virgin Mary appeared to start crying in mass on Sunday at the Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Hobbs.
“I was curious, I wanted to see. I felt she was here for a purpose,” said Minerva Lara. “I just feel very excited and for some reason she’s here and I don’t know, I felt the urge to come and see her.”
Since the statue first started crying on Sunday, hundreds have come through the church. For some it’s a spectacle for photos and selfies. Others though are taking her tears as a message straight from God.
“What can I say? I was looking at her and the more I saw her, the more I felt that she was here for a purpose and she was talking to me as a mother to a mother,” said Lara.
Many visitors believe she began crying because of all the pain and violence in the world.
“She’s here for a reason. So many things have been happening, so many things are going on. We need to get closer to God,” said Lara.
Her tears began on Sunday during the 12 o’clock mass. Children noticed it first and told the priest after service ended.
“When somebody came outside and said ‘Father, Guadalupe was crying and he was like ‘No, I don’t believe it,'” said the business manager for the church, Jody Ronquillo. “They wiped her face and she kept crying more.”
Believers said her tears smell like roses and had an oily texture. At first, the statue was crying so much believers said that her tears formed a puddle at her base of the statue.
“Father was shaking. He started crying. He kneeled and everybody started kneeling and praying,” said Ronquillo.
Over the last three days, hundreds have walked through the doors. Many traveled hundreds of miles to visit her. And although there are different ideas about why she’s crying, all believers agree the statue’s tears have brought them closer to God.
“It’s something that you feel like I have faith, but now I have it more,” said Ronquillo. “If you don’t believe in God, we do now. There’s a God up there.”
The church plans to remain open 24 hours a day so everyone can have the chance to witness the miracle.
