A Self-Styled Mystic's Alleged Scheme: Weeping Virgin Mary Statue at the Center of Fraud Trial
In a shocking case, Gisella Cardia, an Italian self-styled mystic, is set to face trial in April next year for allegedly perpetuating a massive scam involving a statue of the Virgin Mary. The 52-year-old claimed that the statue was weeping tears of blood and transmitting messages to her, drawing hundreds of pilgrims to a town near Rome each month.
Over several years, Cardia's scheme generated an estimated €365,000 in donations from the devotees, who believed their money would go towards setting up a centre for sick children. However, investigators have since revealed that the blood on the statue was actually sourced from a pig. The scam has been described as "paradise" by some, but it's undoubtedly left many feeling deceived.
Cardia is not only facing trial but also has a history of financial misdeeds. She has previously been convicted of bankruptcy fraud and has now been charged with staging fake apparitions of the Virgin Mary and making false predictions to attract donations.
The alleged scam has sparked renewed debate about the authenticity of supernatural phenomena, including apparitions and weeping statues. In recent weeks, the Vatican's doctrinal office has weighed in on the matter, declaring that certain alleged apparitions are not of supernatural origin.
Gisella Cardia's lawyer has stated that her client welcomes the trial as an opportunity to reveal the truth and put an end to controversy surrounding her claims. The case is set to be closely watched by Catholic authorities, who are seeking to tighten their rules on supernatural phenomena and prevent similar scams in the future.
The trial comes as part of a broader crackdown on false prophets and self-styled mystics, who have been emboldened by social media's spread of exaggerated claims about apparitions and weeping statues. With millions of Catholics worldwide, it's clear that this case has far-reaching implications for the faith community.
In a shocking case, Gisella Cardia, an Italian self-styled mystic, is set to face trial in April next year for allegedly perpetuating a massive scam involving a statue of the Virgin Mary. The 52-year-old claimed that the statue was weeping tears of blood and transmitting messages to her, drawing hundreds of pilgrims to a town near Rome each month.
Over several years, Cardia's scheme generated an estimated €365,000 in donations from the devotees, who believed their money would go towards setting up a centre for sick children. However, investigators have since revealed that the blood on the statue was actually sourced from a pig. The scam has been described as "paradise" by some, but it's undoubtedly left many feeling deceived.
Cardia is not only facing trial but also has a history of financial misdeeds. She has previously been convicted of bankruptcy fraud and has now been charged with staging fake apparitions of the Virgin Mary and making false predictions to attract donations.
The alleged scam has sparked renewed debate about the authenticity of supernatural phenomena, including apparitions and weeping statues. In recent weeks, the Vatican's doctrinal office has weighed in on the matter, declaring that certain alleged apparitions are not of supernatural origin.
Gisella Cardia's lawyer has stated that her client welcomes the trial as an opportunity to reveal the truth and put an end to controversy surrounding her claims. The case is set to be closely watched by Catholic authorities, who are seeking to tighten their rules on supernatural phenomena and prevent similar scams in the future.
The trial comes as part of a broader crackdown on false prophets and self-styled mystics, who have been emboldened by social media's spread of exaggerated claims about apparitions and weeping statues. With millions of Catholics worldwide, it's clear that this case has far-reaching implications for the faith community.
And don't even get me started on the Vatican's doctrinal office weighing in on it like they're all holy and stuff but really they should be focusing on stopping scams like this instead of trying to debunk every little supernatural claim 
Gisella Cardia is like a total fake and its so sad she took advantage of peoples devotion to the Virgin Mary and made bank off of it 
She thinks shes gonna get away with it just bcos her lawyer says she wants to reveal the truth? Please, she's been caught red handed 
Its like, if u r gonna scam people, at least have the decency 2 admit 2 it. And now the Vatican is all over this like a bad rash 
I think its time 4 them 2 get tough on these false prophets and self-styled mystics who are just preying on peoples gullibility 
. I mean, come on, if you're gonna fake tears of blood and claim it's the Virgin Mary, at least have the decency to make it believable 
. But no, instead you get caught out with some pig juice 
. And let's not forget all the people who lost money because of this scam 
. It's just common sense to be skeptical when someone is asking for donations and making these wild claims 
. The Vatican's getting in on it too? Okay, cool, maybe they can help put some teeth into this 
.
. And now she's facing trial, about time! 
The Vatican needs to get serious about these fake prophets and weeping statues. It's like, hello, if u can't even be bothered to tell the truth, then don't try 2 trick ppl into donating money 
.
and meanwhile its all just a big scam 
And can we talk about the fact that someone actually sourced pig blood from a butcher to make it look like the Virgin Mary was crying tears of blood? 
. And from what I've seen of the Vatican's doctrinal office's stance on this, it sounds like they're being pretty harsh and judgmental, which isn't really fair to Cardia or anyone else who's made a mistake 
. Maybe we should be focusing more on how we can prevent these kinds of scams in the future rather than crucifying someone for it? 
It's also worth noting that social media can be a huge enabler when it comes to false info and sensationalism... maybe we need to take a step back and think about how we're contributing to this problem instead of just jumping on the bandwagon 
.
. I mean, Gisella Cardia was able to pull off this massive scam for years, and it's crazy to think about how many good deeds she claimed were going on behind the scenes... like a fake charity for sick kids 
. And now we know she was just using pig blood to make it look all dramatic 
.
. But at the same time, it's also kind of a blessing that we have the internet so we can fact-check all this stuff and see what's really going on 
.
. And maybe we should also just take a step back and think critically before we start believing all this supernatural stuff 
. but at the same time, it's hard not to see some of this as a commentary on the gullibility of certain people and how easily they can be swayed by false narratives 
. anyway, I hope she gets held accountable for her actions & that this whole ordeal serves as a cautionary tale for anyone who'd follow in her footsteps 
.
. It's not fair to legitimize scams like this one and make people feel deceived 
, but at the end of the day, it's all about accountability and making sure these kinds of scams don't happen again 
I just can't believe people fall for this stuff! Like, how easy is it to fake tears on a statue 
. Social media's a big part of the problem, I guess - it makes it too easy for people to spread false info and get rich off it 
. Anyway, gotta be good for the faith community to weed out all these fake mystics... 
. Newsflash: this wasn't a performance art piece, it was a scam that hurt real people financially and emotionally 
.