| International News

On Feb. 12, a bloodlike substance reportedly oozed from the eyes of a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus kept in the open yard of St. Joseph the Worker Church of Ghoreghat, a parish in Jabalpur Diocese. Jabalpur, a major town in Madhya Pradesh state, is 815 kilometers southeast of New Delhi. Ghoreghatt, 180 kilometers (110 miles) further southeast, is in Mandla district.

Statues and images of the Sacred Heart usually portray the heart of Jesus surrounded by a crown of thorns, symbolizing his love for humanity. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is popular in the Catholic Church.

"I am convinced it is a miracle," Father Paul Pappachan, the assistant parish priest, told UCA News on Feb. 13. The red substance tasted like blood, he said. "I just can't understand it."

Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur celebrated Mass at the parish a day after the incident. On his return, he told UCA News that the bloodlike substance was still visible on the statue. The phenomenon is "a powerful indication for us to mend our ways," he concluded.

Bishop Almeida said he wants his flock to engage in "soul searching" and ask if they have been living according to God's plan. There could be "something lacking in our service, or people may have performed certain 'incorrect' actions," he said. "There need to be some reforms in our lives."

The prelate added that he will send an official letter to all church workers in the diocese to explain the incident and to invite them to reflect on why the statue apparently shed blood.

According to Father Pappachan, the first person who witnessed the phenomenon is Chandrawati Armo, an assistant nurse at a local dispensary.

Armo, 20, told UCA News that when she routinely cleaned the statue on Feb. 12 morning, she noticed that the statue displayed a "sad expression" and she wondered why it seemed so sad that day.

After cleaning the statue, she went to get a new garland for it, she said, "but when I turned back and looked at the statue, it began to shed blood from both eyes." She said she burst into tears and rushed to tell Father Pappachan.

The priest told UCA News, "I raced to the statue and found blood oozing out of its eyes." That happened, he said, between 9:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

The priest said he then ascended the statue's concrete lotus-shaped pedestal and dipped his finger into the red liquid. "After smelling it, I tasted it," he recalled. He repeated this action four times, he said, and every time he did so, he sensed the smell and taste of "real blood."

He then gave the substance to some nuns and a villager, who had rushed to the spot when they heard the news. "It was real blood!" Sister Bina Kanjirathingal, one of the nuns, asserted to UCA News.

The St. Francis of Assisi nun said a nurse went to get a slide to collect a sample, but the flow stopped and the substance clotted before she returned. The nun said she believes "the miracle" shows Jesus' concern for a humanity that has strayed from God but it also reiterates that Jesus "is a living God."

Her companion, Sister Ranita Madassery, who also tasted the liquid, told UCA News the phenomenon "definitely aimed at giving a message."

According to Father Florentius Kujur, the parish priest, blood clots are also visible on the statue's hands. He told UCA News that people of all faiths now visit the statue and offer prayers, and about 400 parishioners have been praying inside the church ever since the phenomenon occurred. The news has also attracted many priests and nuns from other areas, he added.

Several Christians from neighboring villages told UCA News they think Jesus wept because of people's sins. "I feel we have done something wrong," said Indal Das Bhansur, 58, a farmer who claims to have seen "the blood oozing" from the statue. He was joined by Dharam Singh Dhurve, a villager, who came with his family members when he heard about the "miracle."

Father Anand Muttungal, spokesperson of the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh, told UCA News on Feb. 14 the substance will be sent for DNA testing.