A tiny village in Germany was visited by nearly 1,000 religious pilgrims hoping to experience a Marian apparition and some believe that they did.
The throngs of worshipers descended upon the town of Unterflossing, which normally boasts a population of just over 100 people, last weekend.
They were drawn to the village after a man named Salvatore Caputa, who claims to have been in communication with the Virgin Mary for the last thirty years, promised that she would make an appearance there.
According to those in attendance, Caputa dropped to his knees at the prescribed time of 4:30 PM and the distinct aroma of roses could reportedly be smelt in the air by some witnesses.
The alleged divine communicator then ventured into a small chapel where he purportedly 'spoke' with the Virgin Mary for thirty minutes.
When Caputa reemerged, he carried with him a message asking people to pray for the Virgin Mary because she is "greatly troubled" and exhorting them to fill their hearts with peace.
While skeptical observers may scoff at the scene and see it as nothing more than theatrics, some of the attendees insist that they did, indeed, smell roses and believe that it was a miraculous moment.
Not everyone, however, was thrilled with the impromptu event as the mayor of Unterflossing told local media that "my main concern is the traffic management rather than that the Mother of God will appear in the flesh."
Unfortunately for the mayor, he may not be out of woods just yet as Caputa indicated that the Virgin Mary will return to Unterflossing again on March 19th of next year.
Hopefully by then the beleaguered politician will be able to take some time to stop and smell the roses.
Source: The Guardian