To all you doubters out there...

Dr Strange

"A pensioner claims he could walk properly for the first time in years 10 minutes after obtaining a 4ft-tall statue of the Virgin Mary."

independent.ie wrote:

Grandfather Des Fitzgerald (82), of Greystones in Limerick city, recently purchased the statue to mark the centenary of the first apparitions in Fátima, Portugal.

He bought the blessed statue for €400 - but said he did not expect to receive a "miracle" as his health dramatically improved.

After alternating between using a wheelchair and a walking aid for a decade, he said his prayers had been answered.

"I hadn't the statue 10 minutes when I was able to walk fully. It was a miracle straight away. To prove it to myself, I walked out of the house, down to the gate and back up again. Before, I was barely able to stand up for a minute on my own," he told the 'Limerick Leader'.

Full article: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/i-got-a-statue-of-the-virgin-mary-and-minutes-later-i-was-able-to-walk-for-the-first-time-in-a-decade-pensioner-speaks-of-miracle-36222732.html

Pac1Man

He was probably using it to lean on.

posturingpat

She was quite the bitch to leave him unable to walk for all them years previous.

begbysback

When's the next mass?

McMurphy

Meh.


Doesn't beat the miracle two PA cops pulled off on a poor blind and legless man in the 80s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKtjBqJ4NxA

DontThankMe

How the fvck is this news in a national newspaper?

Saruhashi

Dr Strange wrote: »

"A pensioner claims he could walk properly for the first time in years 10 minutes after obtaining a 4ft-tall statue of the Virgin Mary."

Full article: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/i-got-a-statue-of-the-virgin-mary-and-minutes-later-i-was-able-to-walk-for-the-first-time-in-a-decade-pensioner-speaks-of-miracle-36222732.html

independent.ie wrote:

Grandfather Des Fitzgerald (82), of Greystones in Limerick city, recently purchased the statue to mark the centenary of the first apparitions in Fátima, Portugal.

He bought the blessed statue for €400 - but said he did not expect to receive a "miracle" as his health dramatically improved.

After alternating between using a wheelchair and a walking aid for a decade, he said his prayers had been answered.

"I hadn't the statue 10 minutes when I was able to walk fully. It was a miracle straight away. To prove it to myself, I walked out of the house, down to the gate and back up again. Before, I was barely able to stand up for a minute on my own," he told the 'Limerick Leader'.

Very similar thing happened to me but it was a commemorative golden fiddle to honor the Devils appearance in Georgia, USA, 1979.

When I play that thing I can get rid of any ailment. Colds, flu, explosive fecal discharge.

This statue sounds like a total rip off. If this old fella had made a deal for a golden fiddle instead he'd be looking like a 32 year old within 10 minutes, easy.

dav3

Is 'a 4 foot tall statue of the virgin mary' street slang for cocaine?

bucketybuck

How does he know it wasn't the 500 ml semi - skimmed milk he had bought ten minutes earlier?

Tabnabs

That's his disability payments gone...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U74s8nFE7No

Kimbot

He bought it for 400 I bet you he will try sell it now at a huge markup :P

McMurphy

donegaLroad wrote: »

I don't know, but it would be a great way to smuggle cocaine. All those South American countries are Catholic.

Some are gay too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfuWvgaAjQQ

B0jangles

Dr Strange wrote: »

"A pensioner claims he could walk properly for the first time in years 10 minutes after obtaining a 4ft-tall statue of the Virgin Mary."

"I hadn't put the statue down for more than 10 minutes when I was able to walk fully. It was a miracle straight away. To prove it to myself, I walked out of the house, down to the gate and back up again. Before, I was barely able to stand up for a minute on my own," he told the 'Limerick Leader'.

I'm very glad he can walk again of course, but am I the only one who immediately imagined him going around with a big heavy statue and then miraculously discovering how easy it is to walk once you're not lugging a 4 foot Blessed Virgin Mary around with you all the time?

Ralf and Florian

DontThankMe wrote: »

How the fvck is this news in a national newspaper?

It's the Indo. The "newspaper" that constantly tries to convince it's readers that Brian O Driscoll and his actress wife are some kind of Irish Posh and Becks.

whisky_galore

DontThankMe wrote: »

How the fvck is this news in a national newspaper?

Because it's Ireland and a slow news day.

valoren

Well, that's me convinced....look's like it's back to Mass for me.......hufhufhufhufhufhuf

cajonlardo

Aul fella happy for a while. Good stuff. Let him at it.

server down

Well the mind is powerful. Religious cures are probably super-placebo effects.

enfield

I suppose he will be giving up his disability benefit so....

Working class heroes

whisky_galore wrote: »

Because it's Ireland and a slow news day.

If only we had a hurricane to liven up things a bit......eh?

Owryan

Ralf and Florian wrote: »

It's the Indo. The "newspaper" that constantly tries to convince it's readers that Brian O Driscoll and his actress wife are some kind of Irish Posh and Becks.

It's also the paper that gets its stories from liveline on da radio.

Baron Kurtz

Real Grandpa Joe stuff.

Berserker

server down wrote: »

Well the mind is powerful. Religious cures are probably super-placebo effects.

Quite possibly. If it works for him and he can have a better life as a result of it then let him at it. Not sure it should be national news. I'd prefer to see them cover the CoS shenanigans that is unfolding in south Dublin tomorrow in greater detail. Some digging needs to be done by the media on that front.

nozzferrahhtoo

Dr Strange wrote: »

To all you doubters out there...

Doubters of what? I see nothing to doubt in your quote.

Let me summarize what I know so far. Which is only what I have read in your OP

1) An 82 Year old Purchased a Statue for what at first seems an exploitative sum.

2) He has been using a wheelchair and walking aid for some time.

3) On that particular day he noticed his ability to walk was improved on what he believed it to be before.

None of those three statements seem remarkable in and of themselves. I assume any "doubt" you are assigning to your readers therefore is that someone somehow wants point 3 to be linked to point 1 in a causal manner.

But that link would appear to be, on the face of it, nothing more than an assumption.

Or am I missing somehow another link being made?

the_pen_turner

I wonder was it the weight of his wallet that was crippling him.

De Bhál

€400....really can't believe that

good price for a magic statue I suppose.

Hector Bellend

I'd believe it if he was banging a 23 year old porn star with savage cans.