The faithful are flocking to a small  Louisiana neighbourhood to witness a statue of Mother Mary which they believe is  bleeding.

The statue of the Mother Mary holding baby  Jesus is in the front garden of a home in Baton Rouge.

The home’s owner, Hai Nguyen, was cutting his  lawn when he looked up and saw blood on the statue which seemed to be coming out  of Mary’s temple, his family explained.

Bleeding: The faithful are flocking to a Baton Rouge  home to witness this statue of Mother Mary which they believe is  bleeding

Message: Hai Nguygen was mowing his lawn when he looked  up and saw blood on this statue of the Mother Mary, which appeared to be coming  from her temple

A neighbour, Kim Pham, toldWLOX  Channel 13that the blood was  dripping down the statue’s face.

Nguyen’s daughter translated to the news  station for her father, ‘He don’t know how to explain it. He just know that  maybe God sent a message through Mary.’

Believing it was a real message from God, the  family called everyone they knew to come and see the bleeding Mary with their  own eyes.

As news spread and more believers arrived,  the family erected a gazebo for the faithful to keep an overnight vigil in front  of the statue.

Drawing crowds: As news of the bleeding statue spread, a  crowd gathered to pray before it

Investigation: Local priests have taken samples of the  ‘blood’ to determine what it is

Pham explained, ‘So everybody come over and  we pray all night last night. All night.’

Local priests have taken samples of the  substance from the statue’s face to determine what it is, local stations  reported.

A religious studies professor from Louisiana  State University told CNN that  the observation demonstrates the devotion of these believers.

‘One way to think about it is to see how this  is real to those who devote themselves to Mary and what that means to them as a  kind of prayerful way to contemplate the role Mary in their lives or Jesus in  their lives and for many people it’s empowering and it’s a way to return to a  devotion.’

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