Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

The icon that wept in Mariapócs

Mariapócs (Hungary) (1696)

In the Hungarian village of Onions a Marian icon that went into history by something shocking: he cried. During the Mass of 4 November 1696, the image of the Virgin shed real tears, a phenomenon that lasted intermittently for about fifteen days, until December 8.

The remarkable thing is that that was not in mere pious rumor. There was ecclesiastical research about the tear, and the sources speak of about fifty-three witnesses, including Protestants, which gives the episode an unusual backing. The fact of the tear is therefore documented by testimonies of the time; the proper miraculous interpretation belongs, as always, to the believing reading of the event.

The story went on. The original icon was moved to Vienna, where it is now venerated in the Cathedral of San Esteban. And the copy that took his place in Máriapercs again cried 1 August 1715for three days, and again 3 December 1905This time, it's going on until the end of the year. The Hungarian sanctuary became one of the great national Marian pilgrimage centers.

By fidelity to the sources it must be said that, on a specific and explicit link with the Rosary, there is nothing in the documentation consulted. What is clear is the deep Marian character of the place and its fame as a sanctuary that is wanted by a whole people, who come to the Mother of Tears as before someone who truly shares their sorrows.