Thousands drawn in Lourdes Grotto in the Bronx, claiming water heals them
November 6, 2004 - Reported in Spirit Daily.com online newspaper. From theledger.com written by Andrea Elliott. Visitors come to the Church of St. Lucy in Williamsbridge, NY, asking the Virgin and her water for everything from a new romance to cures for the incurable. The Spirit That Flows Each Year; Thousands Are Drawn to Stream in Bronx, NY. New York Maria de la Cruz uses two disinfectants to mop her Bronx apartment floor. One she buys at the drug store. The other, she believes, comes from God. "It removes the negative from my home," said de la Cruz, standing at the source of her divine cleanser, a stream of tap water gushing from an artificial cave outside the Church of St. Lucy in Williamsbridge, a neighborhood in the Bronx. De la Cruz mouthed a small prayer and plunged an empty detergent container into the water, collecting at least a month's worth of mopping fluid. She was followed by Jose Rodriguez, who dunked his head in the stream, which flows beneath a statue of the Virgin Mary. Rodriguez, a taxi driver, also sprinkles the water on his brakes. More commonly, cab drivers pour the water over their cars, which often form a line outside the Roman Catholic church on Mace Avenue. The scene has proved vexing to the church's pastor, the Rev. Robert Norris. "In some ways, it appears as if it is a car wash," said Norris, 50. Call it a spiritual car wash. Old cars are blessed to ward off accidents. New cars are baptized. And, of course, people wash, bless and baptize themselves, sometimes in bathing suits. They splash water on their ailing body parts, their credit cards -- anything that needs a bit of salvation. They come by the thousands, year after year, asking the Virgin and her water for everything from a new romance to cures for the incurable. "This gentleman had this huge, large lump on the right side of his neck," began one of many stories told by Margaret Aiello, a small, woman who sat in the church's store, where she has volunteered for 27 years. "A short time after, he came in and said, `Lady, do you remember me?' " said Aiello, 82, her eyes darting. The man's lump had disappeared, she said. Then there was the arthritic woman who could not unclamp her fist for 19 years. When she thrust the fist into the water, she had "a burning sensation," and suddenly was able to open her hand, Aiello said. "I wish I kept a log," she said, before offering a solemn parting. "The evil one never sleeps. We know that. But the people have the faith." Their faith in the grotto's healing power varies. There are the staunch believers, who come armed with empty milk jugs and orange juice containers, giving the quiet, residential block the appearance of a recycling factory. And there are the just-in-casers, those who dab and shrug, hoping for the best. Norris is among the skeptics. "I remind people that the water is public water," he said. "There
is no unusual source. But despite that, people think it has certain
qualities." The church's founding pastor, the Rev. Pascuale Lombardo, built
the grotto in 1939 as a copy of the famous site in Lourdes, France,
where it is believed the Virgin Mary appeared. In Lourdes, the water
springs through rocks from a natural stream. The version in the Bronx, officially called Lourdes of America,
features large rocks that form an arch over a stone statue of the
Virgin. The water cascades down with all the appearance of serendipity
-- and no sign of the public utility. Josefina Rodriguez knows the water comes from the tap, not from the top. Still, she thinks it is blessed and has the tales to prove it. Rodriguez, who is from Colombia, went to the grotto in August to ask for help in getting immigration documents "I wet my hands, asking to receive the document," she said, extending her manicured, white-tipped nails to demonstrate. "That month I received the papers." Another time, she dabbed her eyes with water because they ached and the pain disappeared, she said. She and her husband visit the grotto every day."I tell him the water is from the city," said Rodriguez, 50. "It's the faith you have to add to it. It's the faith that's going to save you." St.Lucy Roman Catholic Church 833 Mace Ave Bronx, NY 10467 [See here] story titled The Boy who saw The Virgin in the Bronx.
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