For three months, the city of Windsor, Ontario was abuzz with the story of a Virgin Mary statue that wept tears of oil. Ensconced in a small shrine built on Fadia Ibrahim’s front lawn, the statue attracted hundreds of pilgrims, though it caused havoc for neighbors, city officials, and church authorities.

Miraculous images of the Virgin Mary, part of a tradition commonly known as “folk piety,” exist independently of any religious authority, and the fervor generated is sometimes too much for the Church—or anyone—to control. In this most recent case the attention eventually overwhelmed the statue’s owner, such that, on November 5, in order to protect the privacy of her family, she had the statue relocated to St. Charbel Maronite Catholic Church. In fact, the Virgin told her she would prefer pilgrims visit her in church rather than on Ibrahim’s front lawn.

Ibrahim was a Marian seer long before the arrival of the statue. Her first message from the Virgin Mary came about two years ago when, sitting in mass, a cross and the letter ‘M’ appeared in blood on her leg. Since then, the Virgin has inscribed other messages on her body and has even spoken to her directly. Ibrahim’s message from Mary is that people must invigorate their faith and return to church.

Marian seers, apparitions, and other miracles have appeared all over the world and appear to be on the rise, particularly since the close of the Second Vatican Council in 1965 which, ironically, had sought to rein in Catholic folk piety. The surge continued for the remainder of the century, buoyed by expectations about the coming millennium. Dedicated lay organizations have formed around the most prominent sightings and hundreds of websites are devoted to interpreting Marian prophesies.