Latest news with #worshippers
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Beach Mass service draws thousands of worshippers
Beach Catholic draws thousands of worshippers to Long Island beaches in New York each week. Service attendees tell Fox News Digital what the Mass means to them.
Washington Post
05-07-2025
- Washington Post
Congregation flees after arsonist sets fire to an Australian synagogue door
MELBOURNE, Australia — An arsonist set fire to the door of a Melbourne synagogue and forced the congregation to flee on Friday, seven months after criminals destroyed a synagogue in the same Australian city with an accelerant-fueled blaze that left a worshipper injured. A man doused the double front doors of the downtown East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and set it alight around 8 p.m., a police statement said on Saturday. Around 20 worshippers sharing a meal to mark the Shabbat Jewish day of rest evacuated through a rear door and no one was injured, police said.
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Biblical sign appears in skies over church after mass: 'Absolutely remarkable'
A crowd of churchgoers witnessed what many believe was a biblical sign as a cloud appeared to take the form of Jesus Christ in broad daylight. The remarkable sight was captured near the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Peñafrancia in the Philippines on June 14. A crowd had gathered to worship ahead of National Youth Day in the country's Naga City when several parishioners spotted a cloud in the shape of a person standing upright. National Youth Day is a Filipino holiday celebrated on June 19 that emphasizes serving the community and country. As one of the attendees zoomed in, their video allowed those on social media to spot details like a head, long, wispy hair, legs, and an outstretched arm. 'Is it a sign?' one person asked on X. For many in the Philippines, the well-timed sighting was absolutely a sign of a divine presence. However, this may also be a case of pareidolia, a phenomenon that describes the tendency to perceive meaningful images in random or ambiguous visual patterns. Examples of this include people who see a face in a piece of toast or an animal in a cloud. Our minds are wired to recognize things we know, even if they're not really there. However, after the Jesus-shaped cloud went viral online, over 8,000 worshippers reportedly visited the site to honor the holy sign. 'Heaven touches earth in the most unexpected ways. A reminder that Christ is truly with us… even in the skies above,' another believer posted on X. While many on social media have posted messages and Bible verses, sharing their belief that the cloud was a heavenly sign, others voiced skepticism that it was really an image of Jesus. 'I believe in Jesus, but that's a cloud,' one person wrote on X. 'It's just a cloud. And it looks more like Beyoncé than Jesus,' another user claimed. Meanwhile, some held onto their faith but kept an open mind about what the sign was trying to show the gathering of Filipino youths. 'I think it's an apparition, but not sure it's Jesus. Perhaps the Holy Mother Mary or an angel. I do believe cloud formations are often created and intentional,' one believer posted Thursday. On a scientific level, cloud formations are natural phenomena that appear when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into visible droplets or ice crystals, creating clouds that can take on various shapes. These clouds can look like fluffy cotton balls, thin wisps, or heavy, dark sheets, depending on weather conditions like temperature and humidity. Sometimes, people see clouds that resemble objects, animals, or even human figures, like the Jesus-shaped cloud reported over Naga City. This isn't the first time religious individuals have reported seeing an image of Jesus in the sky. In 2020, Caroline Hawthorne spotted a bizarre cloud formation from her kitchen window in the UK, which she firmly believed was an image of Jesus or an angel. In Italy, onlookers in 2019 captured remarkable images of what looked like the figure of Jesus appearing above the town of Agropoli as sunlight broke through the clouds. An even more astonishing sight was caught on video in 2017, when locals in the Colombian city of Manizales said they recorded the figure of Jesus appearing near the site of a devastating landslide. A crowd gathered to film the sunlight slanting through clouds where 17 people were killed by landslides after a month's worth of rain fell in just one night. The rare cloud phenomenon was recorded on a mountain called Sancancio and the glowing figure provided comfort to the residents who lost homes, loved ones, and jobs in the natural disaster.
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
'Botched' restoration to church Virgin Mary statue sparks huge protests from furious worshippers in Spain
The restoration of an iconic 17th century statue of the Virgin Mary has sparked huge protests in Seville after worshippers said her makeover left her looking like she had undergone plastic surgery. The Virgin of La Macarena is one of Spain 's most famed Catholic effigies, and many Spaniards travel south every year to catch a glimpse of the wooden figure during the city's Holy Week parades. So when the Brotherhood of the Macarena unveiled the surprise restoration over the weekend, her devotees were outraged, with critics saying she had been disfigured. According to her worshippers, her face was given a glossier finish, while her eye lashes were made longer, which they say altered her gaze. 'Her facial expression has completely changed,' one outraged worshipper told Spanish newspaper El Pais. 'It pains me deeply to say it, but she looks like a poor copy of the original.' Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Basilica de la Macarena on Monday calling for the resignation of the brotherhood's leader. Footage shows faithful gathered round the church singing hymns about the Virgin as they demanded answers. 'This isn't her; this isn't the Virgin of Seville. It's sad. My heart is about to burst out,' one protester told ABC newspaper. 'They should have left her as she was.' Such has been the outrage that the statue is reported to have undergone two more restorations in less than 24 hours to get her back to her original state. The brotherhood issued an apology and closed the basilica over the weekend, and the Virgin has since emerged with shortened eyelashes after efforts to correct an 'undesired effect.' The religious icon's controversial makeover has been likened to the botched art restoration of a painting of Jesus Christ, which resulted in the painting being dubbed: 'Monkey Christ'. In 2012, Cecilia Giménez, 82, decided to touch up the 'Ecce Homo' (Behold The Man) fresco in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy church in Borja, northern Spain. However, her brushwork completely obliterated the face of Jesus transforming the painting into what locals described as more like a hedgehog or hairy monkey rather than Jesus. It also comes after a Polish village was outraged earlier this year after a botched renovation of a 1820 shrine of Jesus and the Virgin Mary left the Blessed Mother looking like a 'Simpsons' cartoon character. Once described by experts as 'tall and slender', the Virgin Mary statue just outside the village of Stuszionka now has oversized mitten-like hands, exaggerated eyes and a crooked frown accentuated by bright red lipstick. The figure of Jesus, meanwhile, appears to be wearing grey underpants, and both figures have been repainted with an unnatural yellow hue. Posting a photo on Facebook, the Conservator of Monuments said: 'A rather rare depiction of the Virgin Mary looking upwards. 'Another example of good intentions... Let's hope that in the near future this valuable object will receive professional conservation, because it deserves it very much.' It added that the unknown restorer had also painted over the shrine's original German inscription, replacing it with the markings 'VII 2024, JC 2,' written in what appears to be a black marker pen. Locals vented their fury with the botch job, with some describing it as 'desecration'. Posting on social media, one outraged viewer said: 'The times of the greatest barbarity and ignorance of Spirit and Reason have come.' Another commented: 'I would take a risk and notify the prosecutor's office about offending religious feelings. Because this is nothing more than an example of desecrating an object of religious worship.' 'It looks more like Bart Simpson than The Mother Mary,' said another.
Washington Post
23-06-2025
- Washington Post
Man's mother is member of church where he opened fire outside before he was fatally shot, police say
WAYNE, Mich. — The man who opened fire outside a Michigan church filled with worshippers before he was struck by a vehicle and then fatally shot by security staff had attended services there a couple of times in the last year and his mother is a member, police said. The gunman, identified as Brian Anthony Browning, 31, did not have any previous contacts with local police or a criminal history, but may have been suffering a mental health crisis, the Wayne Police Department said in a news release.
