Acerra, near Naples, is now likely to become a Roman Catholic shrine.

Rumours began at the weekend when several people at the modern church of San Pietro shouted out that a statue by the altar was moving. The hands and feet of the Madonna had begun to “take human form, flesh and blood”.

The knees then appeared to move beneath her white robes, “as if she wanted to move closer to the faithful” and a cross appeared on her breast.

Parishioners said that the movement had first been noticed by cleaners, who had kept silent for fear of being disbelieved.

The 160cm (63in) high statue, made of plaster and marble dust, was installed at the church last December. Father Oreste Santoro, the parish priest, said that he had not seen the statue move but a number of parishioners had allegedly taken footage of the “miracle” with their mobile phones. These had been forwarded to the local bishop, Monsignor Giovanni Rinaldi, who would decide whether to refer the apparition to the Vatican for authentication.

Mgr Rinaldi said that he was sceptical by instinct but would evaluate the evidence. “The true miracle is when the Virgin Mary succeeds in converting men to God,” he said.

Mgr Antonio Riboldi, the retired bishop of Acerra, also urged caution, saying that “these matters are often difficult to comprehend. The Church proceeds with great prudence where apparitions of the Virgin Mary are concerned”.

However, Espedito Marletta, the Mayor of Acerra, who is a member of the Refounded Communist Party (Rifondazione Comunista) — not on the whole noted for its religious devotion — said he believed that the “miracle” was a sign of the Virgin’s anguish over terrorist attacks and a plea for peace.

“After the bomb attacks in London and Sharm el-Sheikh, for people to gather and pray before a statue of the Madonna in this way is something very positive,” Signor Marletta said.

Mgr Riboldi said people often reported visions of the Virgin Mary in troubled times.

Those at Fatima in Portugal in 1917, for example, were linked to the two world wars and the rise of Communism.

He said that he had been to the Marian shrine at Lourdes many times, “and I have never seen anyone physically cured there. I have, however, seen many people converted or spiritually changed and that is what is truly supernatural”.

Parishioners at Acerra claim not to have been the victims of mass hysteria. Many drew an analogy with the “weeping Madonna of Civitavecchia”, a statue brought from a shrine at Medjugorge in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which ten years ago was said to have cried blood.

The Civitavecchia “miracle” has never been recognised by the Vatican but the town — a port on the coast near Rome — has benefited from the phenomenon, with the local authorities building a reception centre for pilgrims.

The Vatican has approved 15 “authentic apparitions” by the Virgin Mary since 1830, but only one “weeping Madonna”, a statue at Siracusa in Sicily that wept “tears of blood” in 1954. Yesterday a statue of St Padre Pio, the hermit and miracle worker canonised in 2002, was reported to have shed tears of blood at Marsicovetere in the province of Potenza, in southern Italy.

Explore World News

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Asia News

• Africa News

Times Recommends

• Crack! Indy takes whip to doomsayers
• I knew JFK, and believe me Obama’s the better leader
• Population explosion on Europe’s doorstep