NEWSFLASH

CEBUANOS FLOCK TO ‘CRYING’ STA. MONICA STATUE

Cebu City, March 11, 2000 The Philippine Star carried a report today from the Freeman News Service about the image of Sta. Monica at the Basilica del Santo Niño which is creating quite a stir because of what appeared to be tears on its face the other day.

The phenomenon was first noticed shortly after noon, almost immediately after the relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus arrived.

The statue of St. Monica is displayed among those of other saints near the chapel housing the Santo Niño.

A young couple first noticed the moisture in the eyes of the St. Monica statue shortly before 1 p.m., said Vitaliano Bacho, 23, a utility man at the basilica. The couple first thought it was just a reflection of light but when Bacho turned off the lights to check, he found out that there was really some moisture in the eyes of the image.

When the moisture started to form globules and stream down the cheeks of the image, larger crowds began to gather in amazement. The tears on the statue's cheeks reportedly started streaming just as the relics of St. Therese left the basilica at 3 p.m. for its next stop at the nearby Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.

Church authorities refused to call the phenomenon a miracle, saying it will still be subjected to intense investigation.

Meanwhile, an MG 520 Air Force helicopter, on its way to escort the visiting relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus to Cebu, crash-landed the other day at the Manila Memorial Park in Liloan. The aircraft plummeted 300 feet but its crew of three survived unhurt, prompting Air Force officials to call the incident a miracle, the Freeman News Service reported.