Miracle? Did a St. Michael statue begin bleeding for the Russia invasion?

Catholics are no strangers to miracles. The belief in miracles being performed by God is rooted in Scripture. Throughout the centuries, on every continent, God has continued performing miracles. Although belief in private miracles or revelations are not an obligation, the faithful have long found comfort in miracles and their messages. One woman said she experienced a miracle in her home when Russia invaded Ukraine.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines a miracle as: “a sign or wonder such as a healing, or control of nature, which can only be attributed to divine power.”

A Colorado grocery store employee said she experienced a miracle shortly before news of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine would dominate news cycles across the world.

Alicia Martinez, 57, took to social media to show video footage of what she says is her statue of St. Michael the Archangel bleeding. She said her roommate first discovered the statue bleeding and rushed to tell her. According to Martinez, she took video of the statue which appears to be bleeding from the head. The blood appears to be running over the face of St. Michael, but never covers his eyes. Martinez said the incident is unexplainable.

Martinez, a native of Mexico, spoke with Catholic News Agency and explained the bleeding appeared to be similar to if you cut yourself and the blood would drip down the face. Although many are skeptical of the incident being a miracle of God, Martinez said she was unsure what to make of it at the time and asked a priest in Mexico for advice. The priest, according to Martinez, told her to pray more often as a result of the incident. He told her it was a good thing.

According to Catholic World Report, “Martinez was told by another friend who is a religious sister that the blood would not stop flowing until it reached the head of the devil on which St. Michael the Archangel steps. The nearly 30-inch statue bled every day for a week, until it stopped when the liquid fell on the head of the devil depicted in the statue.”

The bleeding began on February 23 and lasted a week, according to Martinez. The Archdiocese of Denver told CNA on March 7 they had been notified and would investigate. So far, the claim remains unsubstantiated.

Martinez originally posted the video on social media, but received a lot of backlash from social media uses accusing her of seeking attention or fame. As a result, she removed the Facebook post, but it can still be viewed on YouTube on the channel Primer Impacto. The name of the video is  “Creyente asegura que imagen de San Miguel Arcángel llora sangre por la invasión de Rusia a Ucrania” or, in English, “Believer assures that the image of Saint Michael the Archangel cries blood for Russia's invasion of Ukraine”

With St. Michael being the patron saint of Kiev, along with Ukrainians saying they have seen angel figures in the sky over Kiev since the war began, Martinez said she believes it is a miracle. St. Michael is often associated with justice and as the world watched Russia invade Ukraine, Alicia Martinez believes the bleeding St. Michael was related to the invasion.

Miracles normally accompany a message. There is no certain message attributed or accompanied by the miracle claim. Additionally, countless social media users have criticized the claim of a miracle since angels do not have bodies like humans and, therefore, do not bleed. It would seem impossible that St. Michael would be bleeding. Although there are depictions throughout Scripture, specifically the New Testament, of angels appearing in bodily form, mystics who have seen and encountered angels disagree with that portrayal of the substance of an angel. Angels appearing in bodily form, therefore, would be something they would do regarding a specific event or job and not the essence of their substance of being. Spirits cannot bleed. Therefore, many argue, the statue of St. Michael bleeding simply does not make sense since angels are spirits and spirits cannot bleed.

Only time will tell what the investigation from the Archdiocese will determine. Miracle? Perhaps. Or maybe not.

The question continues to loom, however, if it is a miracle and it is regarding the invasion of Ukraine, what is the message?