March 23, 2018 - Reported [here] and [here]. Crying Virgin Mary statue brings hope and a 'miracle' to Hobbs.

Hobbs, New Mexico - Inside a catholic church in Hobbs, New Mexico, hundreds of worshipers have come and gone to pray to a statue of Virgin Mary who they believe is shedding tears. The tears began during a noon mass on Sunday. Priest Jose Segura was reluctant at first to believe his eyes, so he called in two other priests. "I walked up to the image of the Virgin and I first thought someone soaked her," Segura said with a translator. "I asked who put water on her eyes and everyone told me no, she's crying so I looked closer, they cleaned her eyes and she kept crying." Since then, the statue, originally from Mexico has not gone an hour without being prayed to. Judy Ronquillo, the church's business manager, said it is a sign from above.

"There is a God up there and she's trying to say something, she's to say something to us," Ronquillo said. "We need to pray, we need to pray for everything that's going on." Visitor, AnnaMaria Cardinally is from Santa Fe. She is one of many who believe Mary's weeping over recent tragedies around the world. "It makes a lot of sense given the state of the world, it's not that she's smizing but she's crying," Cardinalli said. "So that breaks our heart and it hopefully moves us to some kind of action." Cardinalli sang the song, 'Ave Maria' as visitors prayed, witnessed, and touched the Virgin Mary. "I have the devotion of singing it to every image that I encounter for her, but never have I had the opportunity in my life to sing it before an image that's giving such a living physical manifestation of her presence and of her heart," Cardinalli said. The church will remain open for 24 hours a day for visitors. Segura said the tears are preserved as part of an investigation by the Archdiocese of Las Cruces.

Visit Our Lady-Guadalupe Catholic 914 S Selman St, Hobbs, NM 88240.