The Bleeding Statue

Eight miles southwest of Philadelphia, on Highway 291, sits Eddystone. Here lies the Church of St. Luke, a holy shrine that once harbored a very enigmatic symbol. For one whole year, from 1975 to 1976, it was alleged that a statue of Jesus Christ, positioned twelve-feet above the altar, bled continuously. This amazing case of stigmata appeared to be no hoax, but ceased as miraculously as it had begun.

The statue was proven to have shed human blood from its palms. The figure, standing just over two feet in height, provoked thorough examination. In fact, inspections were so severe that limbs were removed in suspicion of finding tube-like objects which the blood must surely have come from. The statue was even X-rayed, but once again, the bleeding effigy defied its critics.

Doctors and priests visited the church and agreed that the oozing liquid, dark red in color, was indeed real blood and coming from some unknown source, and then, even more bizarre, the following year, the owner of the statue, a Mrs. Anne Poore, a resident of Lynwood, also began to bleed from her hands. How long this bleeding went on remains unknown.

Why the mysterious bleeding began and ended at that specific time is anyone's guess, but with regards to stigmata in general, we never seem any closer to uncovering the peculiar truth behind these alleged holy acts.

Image Credit: Flickr user Darren Copley

Source:
Haunted Places by Dennis William Hauck (Penguin 1994)