'Virgen Del Carmen' Statue Destroyed: Lightening Demolishes Monument In Cartagena, Colombia, Igniting Religious Debate

An act of God destroyed a towering statue of the Virgin of Mount Carmel on Sunday night when a lightning bolt cleaved it in half, sending most of the icon into a bay. The 100-year-old statue was over 30 feet tall before the lightning blasted it off of a 60-foot tower mounted in the bay of Cartagena, Colombia. In local Catholic tradition, the “Virgen del Carmen” is the patron saint of mariners and teamsters.

Navy scuba divers from the Colombian armed forces were dispatched to rescue fragments of the statue from the bay floor, according to Noticias Caracol . They didn’t have to dig that deep. Fragments of the Carmen statue were found about 5.5 feet below the water, not far from the base, according to a local radio news website . With a quick response, it looks like the statue will be on dry land again soon. It’s unclear if the statue will be remounted, or moved to another location. Representatives of the city say that it is an iconic landmark.

It’s not the first time that a large religious statue has been struck by lightning. A Christ statue in Cali was struck several times, rendering it a teetering public safety hazard in 2014 .

On social media, interpretations of the meaning of the lightning strike were hotly debated. Comments on Spanish-language news reports of the statue’s collapse were quickly taken over by debates on the possible “message” that the lightning had.

“Catholics who are devoted to the Virgin of Carmen will say that it must be constructed,” wrote an El Universal user under the name Berthold . “Some Christians will see a divine message against idolatry. It will all depend on their agenda [....] I propose that an obelisk is raised their in honor of the victims of the [Colombian Civil war]. There will be a debate, you watch!”

The page was soon flooded with messages from users decrying the use of religious idols, quoting scripture and bashing the idea of saints in general. On Twitter, arguments over the statue continued.

City Mayor Dionisio Vélez called for a fundraising effort to restore the effort.

Others rejected the call, saying that city efforts violated the separation between church and state.

More users said that God struck down the “idol.”

While others denounced such criticisms as the views of “stupid sects.”