Bleeding friar statue not miracle

(ANSA) - The Catholic Church has said that 'tears of blood' found on a statue of Saint Pio in the southern Italian town of Marsicovetere are not a miraculous act of God.

Pilgrims have been flocking to the town, near Potenza in the region of Basilicata, ever since news broke in May that blood had appeared on the statue of the stigmata-bearing Capuchin friar. But after investigating the case, the local Curia said it could "exclude supernatural intervention."

It said tests had shown the blood belonged to a woman - something which rules out the possibility a miracle had taken place. The number of reported cases of miracles, such as Madonna appearances and statues moving or weeping, has grown in recent years and the Vatican has become extremely cautious about giving its seal of approval.

Between 1905 and 2002 it approved only 12 miraculous events and issued 284 rejections. Many of these occurrences featured Saint Pio in one way or another.

In 2002 over 30,000 visitors travelled to Genoa to see a bronze statue of Christ, on which a woman reportedly spotted the features of the friar. Padre Pio, who was canonized in 2002, remains hugely popular in Italy because of his dedication to the sick, which included the building of a major hospital and hospice at his future shrine at San Giovanni Rotondo.

The saint spent most of his controversial life in the southeast region of Puglia where today his tomb draws some seven million pilgrims a year. Born Francesco Forgione, he is most famous for his
perpetually bleeding crucifixion wounds, or stigmata, which according to Catholic tradition are bestowed on the especially holy.

An austere figure who spent much of his life confessing the faithful and praying, he is also credited with a range of supernatural powers and numerous miraculous healings. He died in 1968 at the age of 81.

The most recent major miracle report in Italy was in July, when dozens of people said they saw a statue of the Virgin Mary move and take 'human form' at Acerra, a small town near Naples.

Another case that caused a commotion in the Italian Church revolved around a Madonna statue which started weeping tears of blood in 1995. The 43-cm-high statue belonged to a family who had placed it in the garden of their home in Civitavecchia, north of Rome.

The Vatican subsequently avoided making any pronouncement on the authenticity of the plaster Virgin's tears. In the wake of the Madonna of Civitavecchia, dozens of statues were reported to be weeping all over the country.

Practically all were shown to be copycat cases of people splashing red paint on the cheeks of statues or surreptitiously throwing water on their faces.