Our Lady of the Milk featured on a mysterious picture

Father Patrick Longalong, the pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes parish in the Queens, NYC, tells an intriguing story: Two years ago a New York policeman who was experiencing personal issues, took pictures of his family with his iPhone. But when he tried to view the pictures, they were all gone. Only a picture of a statue of a Madonna and Child was visible.

The man was shocked, since he had never taken that picture and couldn’t identify where it came from. He shared it with his friends to see if someone had sent it to him, but the search yielded no results. Until one of them, a friend of Fr. Longalong, showed the mysterious picture to the latter. The priest recognized the statue, known as Our Lady of La Leche (the Milk), from the oldest Marian shrine in the United States, located in Saint Augustine, northern Florida. The shrine in question keeps alive the apocryphal tradition according to which the Blessed Virgin breastfed and cared for the baby Jesus in a cave for 15 days just before the flight to Egypt.

The Virgin of the Milk is especially invoked by expectant couples or parents who seek her protection for their baby. Was the presence of that picture a miracle? It’s hard to tell, but in any case, the policeman and his family regarded it as a greatly comforting sign.

Translated from the French – Source: Aleteia