Case file · Apparition / miracle
Our Lady of Akita
Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa, a nun near Akita in Japan, reported messages from Mary in 1973, and a wooden statue in her convent was said to weep.
1973 CE · 39.76, 140.15 · status: account
The account
A Japanese TV station filmed tears on the statue in December 1973. Bishop John Shojiro Ito of Niigata recognized the supernatural character of the events in a 1984 pastoral letter and allowed veneration in his diocese. The messages warn of persecution and heresy within the Church.
The sceptical view
Approval came from the local bishop; no independent scientific study of the statue's tears has settled the matter.