In A Mexican Church, The 300-Year-Old Child’s Mummy Mystery Raises Awareness.

Rumors are swirling about paranormal events surrounding a young Catholic saint in Guadalajara, Mexico. Called Santa Inocencia, the deceased martyr is said to have opened her eyes and looked into the camera of a tourist visiting her in the Guadalajara Cathedral.

Some of the more recent sources for this information include The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Daily Express, and The Huffington Post, but it seems the story originated on La Obscura Habitacion.

According to that source, the incident happened on December 12, 2012. Both the website and Youtube host their video of the purported paranormal activity. The YouTube video has already received over 700,000 views; this figure is undoubtedly going to rise along with the controversy surrounding the ostensible occurrence.

The preserved remains of Santa Inocencia are in the Cathedral of Guadalajara in Jalisco in Mexico

By translating the account on the La Obscura Habitacion website, one reads that a person [unnamed] took the video of the corpse with his/her cellphone and was able to capture the little girl opening her eyes. Even though the person says that they didn’t see it while recording, while viewing the video with his/her family that they could see the corpse clearly opens her eyes in front of the camera.

The little saint’s body has been preserved by wax in the church for 300 years

According to Pregunta Santoral, there are two main interpretations of the history of Santa Inocencia: one contends that she was a young girl who, at the time of the rise of Christianity, was tortured and killed by Roman Legionnaires, and the other contends that her Mexican father killed her because she converted to Christianity. On the Vive Guadalajara website, the most popular of the two legends is provided, and it reads as follows:

“St. Innocence (The Girl in the Cathedral) was a young girl named Inocencia from Mexico who listened to her classmates talking about receiving their first communion and wanted to participate in the ceremony as well. However, when she told her father about her desire to convert to the faith he hit her and forbid her from taking part in “such nonsense.” Nonetheless, Inocencia was drawn to the catechism classes and encouraged by a nun who found her listening while hiding outside that she should take the Eucharist. “Better to have the good as ally than evil” the nun said.

So a tourist was terrified when he filmed her body and it appeared that her eyes suddenly opened

Inocencia was given a white lace dress by the nun for the momentous day, and she also received the Eucharist. When she got home, she couldn’t hold back her joy and went to inform her father. He was in the kitchen when she discovered him, and after hearing the news, he stabbed his daughter in the chest (or stomach). The perpetrator of this atrocity left, and nearby residents discovered Inocencia’s lifeless body. She was returned to the cathedral where she had taken Holy Communion, and there she was laid to rest in peace.

However, Pregunta Santoral provides a different take on Santa Inocencia’s tale and states that the body’s story began in 1786 when it was found in the Roman catacombs before it was transported to Mexico where it was pposed to be put in a convent. For political reasons it ended up in the cathedral where is can be seen today. This website asserts that the white gown Inocencia is dressed in was an afterthought sometime along this journey, and probably sparked the popular legend associated with a young martyr.

These two tales are combined in the tale told by La Habitacion Obscura, which claims that Santa Inocencia was a Roman girl who was murdered by her father for converting to Christianity. Her remains was moved to the Roman catacombs, where it was discovered centuries later in almost immaculate condition. The body eventually found its way to the Guadalajara Cathedral, where the face was wax-preserved—or wasn’t it?

Some claim the video is a fake while others say it is a sign

Santa Inocencia appears differently in different depictions; in some, she resembles a statue, while in others, like the ones in the film by La Habitacion Obscura and related videos, she has a waxy face. Still more state that the only true reliquaries of Santa Inocencia are her skeletal hands and blood.

Nevertheless, the question still remains about a possible paranormal event related to Santa Inocencia. Speaking on the story, Cardinal Juan Francisco Robles apparently told La Obscura Habitacion, “This beatified saint is known for making miracles, and this is just one of the many.”

However, as with many other reported paranormal events, there is a debate online whether the video depicting her apparently opening her eyes was a real event or is just a hoax. There are several commentators saying the video is a fake, while others retort that those who believe don’t need an explanation. Mixed in are worries of demonic forces and people who are unsure if it could be true or not. Take a look at the video for yourself, what do you think?

Body of child saint that died 300 years ago appears to open eyes in video