Vatican academy will probe ‘mystical phenomena’ around the world
A Vatican academy will investigate “mystical phenomena” around the world, including “weeping” statues of the Virgin Mary, stigmata and ghost sightings as part of plans for a new dedicated observatory.
The Pontifical Mariana International Academy (PAMI), which describes itself as a scientific institution of the Holy See, hopes to bring to light “about a hundred ongoing phenomena” in Italy alone.
Still awaiting authenticity from the Church, the specialized observatory will evaluate and study “apparitions and mystical phenomena” around the world. Vatican News reports.
It will address ghost sightings, inner locutions and stigmata – which believers see as bodily marks, scars or pain that correspond to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ.
Speaking about the launch of the Observatory’s new Scientific Committee, Father Gian Matteo Roggio, the Mariologist, told local Italian media: “In Italy there are about a hundred ongoing phenomena that the Church is closely following.
A Vatican academy will investigate “mystical phenomena” around the world, including “weeping” statues of the Virgin Mary, stigmata and ghost sightings as part of plans for a new dedicated observatory. (file image)
The Pontifical Mariana International Academy (PAMI), which describes itself as a scientific institution of the Holy See, hopes to bring to light “about a hundred ongoing phenomena” in Italy alone. Pictured: St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City
“Many of them are local and limited in scope, not all of them get the attention of the media and the general public.”
PAMI, which begins its first session on Saturday, had been monitoring a curious case involving a weeping statue of the Virgin Mary in Trevignano, near Rome.
It involved an Italian woman who was facing investigation for fraud after she claimed her image of the Virgin Mary could shed tears of blood and multiply gnocchi and pizza.
Thousands flocked to see Gisella Cardia’s prophecies after her statue of Our Lady of Trevignano Romano began to weep blood.
Followers thought she brought messages from Mary and some said she even predicted the COVID pandemic.
But Cardia, 53, has been exposed as a fraud after church investigators discovered that the blood her statue cried was not sacred and actually came from a pig, according to local media.
Officials believe she has now fled after scaring her followers away with tens of thousands of dollars in donations.
PAMI’s new observatory will also introduce local scientific committees to create a larger network for more probes.
PAMI, which begins its first session on Saturday, had been monitoring a curious case involving a weeping statue of the Virgin Mary (pictured) in Trevignano, near Rome.
Gisella Cardia (pictured), 53, has been exposed as a fraud after church investigators discovered the blood her statue cried was not sacred and actually came from a pig
Father Stefano Cecchin, member of the committee, explained: ‘The purpose of the observatory [is] to activate national and international commissions to evaluate and study apparitions and mystical phenomena reported in different parts of the world.
He added: ‘[It will] promotion of updating and training activities on these types of events and their multiple spiritual and cultural meanings, promotion of large-scale dissemination and advisory activities, especially at the service of local churches and bishops, but also transdisciplinary research activities in collaboration with academic institutions, both laity and ecclesiastical, and the publication of the results of the investigations carried out.’
Fellow committee member Father Roggio has spoken on the subject of mystical phenomena before, most notably in 2021 when he revealed that demand for exorcisms was booming during the pandemic.
The Catholic priest told The Telegraph at the time: “We have seen an increase in requests for exorcisms as the pandemic has made people more vulnerable to the idea that Satan or an evil entity has taken over their lives.
‘People have fallen into poverty; they found themselves suffering from anxiety and depression. They feel that their lives are no longer in their own hands, but in the hands of an evil force.
It’s a big crisis.’
He was speaking at a six-day international conference where more than 100 priests and bishops from around the world gathered in Rome to attend the world’s only accredited course on exorcism.