Une Minute avec Marie
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Those who visit the chapel of the Our Lady of Lourdes shrine in the city of Alta Gracia in Córdoba province, Argentina, witness a phenomenon that has no explanation: In the niche that is part of the altarpiece above the altar, an image of the Virgin Mary can be seen although without a doubt the space is empty — there is nothing there.
According to the Argentine news agency AICA, what is seen is not a flat image but rather a relief, a three-dimensional image with folds in the garment. It is also not a psychological illusion resulting from the exaggerated devotion of some pilgrims.
Everyone — believer or not — sees it. Additionally, the image appears in photos taken there. A curious fact is that the image is clearly seen from the front door of the church and then fades as one slowly approaches the altar.(...)
The chapel of the Virgin of Alta Gracia is located on a large property where in 1916 a replica was dedicated of the Massabielle grotto in Lourdes, France, where the Virgin appeared in 1858 to St. Bernadette Soubirous.
In 1922 a commission was formed to build a chapel near the grotto. The first stone was laid in 1924 and in 1927 the bishop of Córdoba blessed the chapel. For many years there was a statue of Our Lady Lourdes in the center of the church’s altarpiece.
In mid-2011 it was removed from its niche or base to be restored and is currently located at the foot of the niche that was left empty.
One day one of the priests in charge of the shrine was going to close the chapel and from the main door he saw an image that looked like it was made of plaster in the empty space.
He approached several times, and each time he did so he noticed that the image he saw from a certain distance faded. The truth was that there was actually no image, but he saw it.
Because of the phenomenon, visible to anyone, the discalced Carmelite friars of the shrine issued a statement in 2011 noting that “the manifestation of the image of the most holy Virgin Mary has no explanation at the moment.”
“It must be interpreted by the people of God as a sign to increase and deepen the Christian faith and to inspire in the hearts of men conversion to the love of God and their participation in the life of the Church,” they said.