Pope Francis said that the apparitions of the Virgin Mary “are not always real” after thousands of pilgrims flocked to a park in Spain where there is a statue of the Virgin Mary that was bought in Medjugorje as a replica by Marie Giuseppe Scarpulle.
Residents of Trevignano have called on Pope Francis to intervene against Giuseppe Scarpulle, who has been nicknamed “The Saint” and “The Seer” for five months organizing monthly ceremonies in a park overlooking Lake Bracciano, where the icon of the Virgin Mary is located.
During an interview with Rai 1, when asked about the apparitions of the Virgin Mary, the pope said that not everyone should be trusted.
”Don’t look there. There are apparitions of Virgin that are real, but Virgin never drew (attention) to herself. I love to see her pointing her finger at Jesus. When the Marian devotion is too focused on you, it is not good”, said the Pope.
It is a statue that Scarpulle bought in Medjugorje. Upon her return to Italy, she claimed that the Virgin appeared to her, shed bloody tears and sent her messages. Because of this, many believers came to visit this statue, where they prayed and asked for healing.
Local bishop Marco Salvi last week urged pilgrims to stop flocking to the site on the third day of the month.
His diocese is investigating the phenomenon surrounding the statue, but the police have also joined the investigation. A private investigator determined that the stains on the statue came from pig’s blood, and some followers said they had been tricked.
Because of this, Scarpulle faces a judicial investigation. She was also convicted in the past because she founded a foundation through which she collected donations supposedly for sick children.
Last month, she said she was not swayed by the investigation, nor by the order to demolish the glass case.
“I will not move even a millimeter because I am in the house of God and I have the Virgin on my side,” she emphasized, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
