‘Glowing’ Statue of the Virgin Mary

A ‘glowing’ statue of the Virgin Mary has drawn hundreds of pilgrims to a house in a small town in southern Belgium. It reportedly glows in the dark. The Jalhay Police have posted guards around a pavilion erected by the retired owners of what is being referred to as ‘the mysterious glowing Virgin’.

500 people visited the house in the normally quiet town to see the statue on one day this week alone. Witnesses claim the statue emits a dull glow in the dark. The local Catholic authorities sent clergymen to investigate. They are uncertain about whether there is a natural or religious explanation for the statue’s glowing effect.

This ‘miraculous happening’ was first observed in the middle of January and has gradually attracted pilgrims. Local media report that some of the visited pilgrims believed the statue had healing powers. The statue, as tall as 1 ft., represents the ‘Virgin of Banneux’. Banneux is the name of a neighbouring village where a young girl was said to have witnessed an apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1933. The town has been a pilgrim destination in largely Catholic Belgium.

 Father Leo Palm, who was sent to investigate the statue by the bishop of Liege said, ‘It’s certain that something is going on but I can’t tell you whether there is a natural or a miraculous explanation.’ The owners of the statue have denied the proposal to move the statue for detailed observation, saying ‘she is fine where she is’.