Florida view of the Statue of Santa Filomena crying and working miracles

Several people claim that a wet substance exuded from a statue of Saint Philomena healed their ills. The Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit is investigating allegations that a religious statue in a Sterling Heights gift shop mourns the oil that devotees say it heals cancer and other diseases.

The statue of Saint Philomena - honored to Warren in a special rosary and mass that led 150 people to pray on Thursday, even if she was locked up in a sanctuary in Troy - is now in a secret place. This will give Metro Detroit's Chaldeans time to prove the claims and the source of the oil, said Kevin Khadir, owner of the All Saints store who purchased the plaster statue of the Catholic martyr in August for $ 1.000 from a Florida parish. .

The archdiocese of Detroit is skeptical. "We're not getting involved in this," said Detroit Archdiocese spokeswoman Corinna Weber. At issue are the disputes of eight people who claim that a wet substance they touched from the statue of Santa Filomena has healed their ills. "I found something valuable," said Khadir. The word of treatment has spread. People from Louisiana, Texas and California who learned about healings in Internet chat rooms came to Michigan to see the statue alone.

Believers abound, although beneficiaries refused to say how they recovered so quickly. “I have seen the statue and the oil. I think, ”said John Alia, a 37-year-old plumber. Alia came from her home in West Bloomfield on Thursday to a mass spoken in Italian for St. Philomena in the church of St. Edmund in Warren. The pastor of the sanctuary of Santa Filomena in Italy was in St. Edmund to share a prayer, even if the statue was not there. Warren truck driver John Yarimian hopes that the statue's oil can fix his bad hips. "I know people who were sick and now they are not after touching a tear," said Yarimian, 43. "I also hope for help."

Khadir purchased the statue in August from a Florida priest whose parish had purchased a new statue of St. Philomena. The statue began to leak on August 26 and shouted on October 31 while a priest examined it before taking it to the church of San Giuseppe in Troia for a closer look. "Before the oil comes out, his cheeks and hands turn red," said Khadir. “Sometimes her hair gets drenched. The oil also comes from his hands, from his anchor, from the leaf (of the palm) and under his arms and feet. It is the will of God. " The fate of the statue is unclear. The priests told Khadir that the statue can be protected by the public or rotated between churches to be seen. 70-year-old parishioner Joan Flynn of St. Edmund said that miraculous claims are not far-fetched. “I don't know if praying a statue helps. But I believe in God and I believe in miracles. "

Filomena

* Daughter of a Greek king beheaded by the emperor Diocletian in Rome, San Filomena was sentenced to death as punishment for not marrying him. The emperor ordered the archers to execute it with arrows, which, according to legend, turned and killed the archers instead.

* The emperor then ordered her to kill her by tying an anchor around her neck and throwing her into the water. But according to legend, the angels broke the rope and carried it to the ground with dry feet.

* She was beheaded after people who saw miracles started to rebel. His body was found on May 25, 1802, in the Catacombs of Santa Priscilla in Via Salaria in Rome. He was believed to be 13 or 14 when he died.

She was declared a saint by Pope Leo XII. Over the years, many miracles have been attributed to Santa Filomena, including restoring vision, the ability to walk and reversing paralysis.