Did a statue of Our Lady of La Salette cry in France?
A viral video of what appears to be a statue of Our Lady of La Salette has gone viral on social media following the December 7 opening of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.
Reports say the statue allegedly wept on December 8, 2024 - the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
Here's the video of the statue of Our Lady of La Salette below:
Who is Our Lady of La Salette?
Our Lady of La Salette is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary after she appeared to two shepherd children in France in 1846.
She urged the need for prayer, repentance, frequent reception of the Sacraments, keeping holy the Sabbath, and keeping the Lord's name holy. She also weeped and warned of coming chastisements if people did not repent.
Did France's statue of Our Lady of La Salette weep in 2024?
Church officials have not issued any statement about a weeping statue in France.
In May 2024, the Vatican issued new norms on declaring events like weeping statues of supernatural origin. Only the pope and Vatican can make the official declaration. The new norms were set due to the susceptibility to hoaxes and scams across the internet.
Regarding the Our Lady of La Salette statue, there is no evidence that a weeping statue in France is currently under Church investigation.
Back in 2016, when a statue seemed to weep in California, "Miracle Hunter" Michael O'Neill, who "extensively researches Catholic miracles," told Catholic News Agency that the Church "is very cautious with these matters."
Here's what Michael O'Neill told CNA below:
"The Catholic Church is very cautious with these matters and employs science where possible to ferret out hoaxes and other non-supernatural explanations."
"Tears are collected and tested to see if they are human (pig's fat has been found in some false cases) and statues may be x-rayed to rule out any internal mechanism used to fraudulently mimic the flow of tears."
"Some weeping icons have been shown to have natural causes - condensation or leaking ductwork in the wall behind them. On a few very rare occasions these lachrymations (tears) have been found to have no explanation and are worthy of belief as being miraculous."
Like any private revelation, Catholics are not required to believe it. We must be very cautious and pay attention to what the Church teaches so as not to be led astray.