How it all began.From Weeping
Madonna.org - Patty Powell (nee Smith) & her twin sister
Eileen Giles (nee Smith) went to Stella Maris College, Geraldton.
Their Year 11 teacher was Sr. Monica Maddox. Sr. Monica went to
Thailand to help form the Presentation Sisters of Thailand Order. As
Patty and Eileen had kept in touch with her she contacted them and
asked them to help her with a Thai exchange programme. A Catholic
school called Daruna in Ratchaburi, Thailand sent children, teachers
and minor seminarians to Rockingham for their summer break starting
March. Patty and Eileen found schools and homes for them amongst
family and friends.
On the 1st August, 1994 Eileen,
Patty and their husbands made a trip to Thailand to visit the
children from previous exchange programmes, who had become so close
to them. Patty, who already had a Sacred Heart statue asked a
priest, Fr. Silvio, who had been on an earlier exchange, where she
could get a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, as this was the parish
she came from. He told her to go to Bangkok and to go to a St.
Vincent de Paul Mission office that sold statues and religious
articles. She was attracted immediately to the face of this statue.
The statue had such a peaceful and serene face.
While in Bangkok they visited
another presentation nun Sr. Joan Evans (a West Australian
Presentation Nun) who worked in the slums of Bangkok. They all
visited the Mercy Centre where Sr. Joan showed them families who
suffered from aids and how they were brought into the centre to
learn to care for their sick family members. Sr. Joan took them to
see the slum area where people had built shanty’s underneath bridges
down near the wharf area.
Eight years went by and on
March 19th, 2002 Patty came home from work and was sitting out in
the shrine area and looked over at Our Lady and saw two shiny
streaks running down her face. She thought that it looked like tears
and got up to examine them closer and found that indeed it was
tears. She felt overcome and saddened that Our Lady was crying and
felt like it was her mother crying. She asked Our Lady "what can I
do to help you"? On waking the next morning and going out to the
shrine she noticed that the face was dry. About 10 days later on
Good Friday Our Lady again wept until Easter Monday. She then wept
in June on the Feast of Corpus Christi. Each time Patty informed the
priests but didn't take the statue to down to the church. Fr. Walsh
at that stage was away and recuperating from heart surgery. On
August 14th, St. Maximillian Kolbe's feast day, on returning from
work at Kolbe College, she noticed, when she walked into her house,
that the rose perfume that accompanies Our Lady's tears, was very
evident throughout the house. Patty went immediately to the shrine
area and saw that Our Lady was again weeping. On reflection she felt
that this wasn't just a private revelation for herself but meant for
the wider community.
Patty took the statue down to
Fr. Walsh and showed him. He examined the statue and then told Patty
that Our Lady should be displayed on a table next to the altar the
next day for the Feast of the Assumption. Father Walsh said the 9.30
am mass, which is a school mass. The church was full and Fr. Walsh
explained at the end of mass the significance of having Our Lady's
statue out on the table. He told people that they could come and
have a closer look. Our Lady stayed in the church on the Thursday
and Friday. Patty brought the statue down on the Saturday morning
but Fr. Walsh said to take it home. In the afternoon Patty came back
down to fold their Parish newsletter and walked with Fr. Walsh to
the church. As they entered through the door of the church the rose
perfume was very evident in the church. Fr. Walsh looked at Patty
and said "can you smell that"? She said "yes". He said "you had
better bring her back tomorrow". She remained in the Church every
weekend until February, 17th, 2003.
The Record (Catholic newspaper)
contacted Fr. Walsh to say that they had heard about the statue and
would like to do a story on it. They came down and interviewed Fr.
Walsh & Patty and took pictures. They said they had to hold the
story until the Archbishop came to examine the statue. Archbishop
Hickey was on retreat at St. John of God's in Shoalwater Bay and on
the Thursday made a visit to Patty's house. He gave permission for
the Record to go ahead with the story. The West Australian newspaper
has the Record delivered on a Friday and were straight on the phone
wanting to do a story as well. The Sunday Times and then Channel 9
and 7 phoned and requested interviews as well as BBC, radio stations
etc. The story hit the headlines in most countries of the world.
On September 10th 2002, Channel
7 Today Tonight had the oil and the statue examined at Murdoch and
Curtin Universities. The findings were released on a programme
airing on 12th September, 2002. The scientists could not come up
with any obvious reason for the phenomena.
At the end of November, the
Archbishop announced that he was getting together a Commission to
exam the statue. The findings of this commission are available by
clicking on the icon on the front page as is Patty’s statement of
reply.
In all the apparitions that
have happened Our Lady’s message has always been the same. She is
calling her children, back to a closer relationship with her Son.
Our Lady continues to weep to this day (3rd June, 2003). It is up to
each and every one of us to discern in our hearts as to why Our
Blessed Mother weeps.
The statue now is kept at
Patty’s home, which she has named “The Holy Family House of Prayer”
and is open to the public Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from
9.30 – 10.30 am and 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm by appointment.
[See video] (windows media player) of
Our Lady of Rockingham statue weeping a tear of oil.
Video used with permission from The weeping Madonna of
Rockingham shrine website.
