How did Mary of Bondi come to be?

In 2014, an amateur scientist had an idea for a new way to make metal foam. If it worked, it might be useful for producing lightweight parts for aircraft, or for building bases in space or on the moon.

He started doing experiments to explore the idea, working in his office in Bondi with test-tubes containing molten metal.

After each experiment, he allowed the metal to cool, checked the results and recorded his observations. After thirteen experiments, he’d seen some interesting results, enough to encourage him to keep working, but nothing amazing.

The Mary of Bondi story begins with experiment 14...

For some reason, experiment 14 produced a result unlike any of the others, before or since.

As the metal cooled inside the tube, he saw it take on a different shape, as if growing from within.

Curious, he let the test-tube cool, then cracked it open and took a photograph.

He tilted the test-tube and a cylindrical shape slid out. It was dark, all except for one small area that shone bright silver under the desk light. He took another photo.

 

Then he picked it up by the rounded base and turned it in the light of a desk-lamp.

Mary of Bondi emerges into the light.

As the angle of the light changed, he was struck by the object’s resemblance to a hooded figure, head tilted forward, as if bowed in sorrow.

The connection from there to the Virgin Mary was instantaneous because, like most people, he had seen countless sculptures and images of Mary over the years, often showing her hooded and in long, flowing robes.

He took more photos, close-ups. 

He could already see how this small, beautiful object could be interpreted as an as an apparition of Mary. After all, she’d appeared spontaneously, and the bright silver area was exactly where her Heavenly Face would be!

 

The meaning of Mary grows and grows.

All this seemed intriguing, but not relevant to what he was trying to do. So he filed experiment 14 away and got on with the next.

Weeks passed. 

But he found myself drawn back again and again to the object.

He started to read about Mary and was struck by the realisation that, viewed from different angles, the figurine could be seen as representing other iconic moments in her life. He has identified seven, which seems remarkable for something that was not created by human hand. You can see them all here.

He also began to see the figurine as having artistic value. The following shots all show the original object after cleaning and were taken at 5 different times in the weeks after experiment 14. None have been retouched.

They show a beautiful range of moods and scenes.

          

Put the idea out there? Or forget all about it?

He wondered what the faithful would think of Mary of Bondi. He felt that people would likely connect on some level, maybe as a piece of art, or a cultural curiosity, even if they didn’t accept it as something potentially miraculous.

He thought of ways to put Mary of Bondi out there and see if people were interested. But he couldn’t think of a way to do it without appearing cynical or sensationalist.

Time passed and he did get to the point of making reproductions of the original.

But he couldn’t think of an ethical way to introduce Mary of Bondi to more people and invite them to buy figurines, so he didn’t act.

Many times, he told himself to just put everything away in a drawer, stop wasting time, forget about the whole idea. He had other projects to work on, and Mary of Bondi was absorbing too much of his time and thoughts.

And introducing Mary of Bondi to the world seemed daunting. What would people think? How would they react? What if there were a backlash?

A year passed. Then another.

And then one day he had a thought that clarified what he should do.

There is a greater good.

He realized there was an argument that, despite not being religious himself, he might have a moral duty to share what he had seen with the many people who are religious, because they might benefit from knowing of Mary of Bondi's existence. 

From their perspective, this little figurine might really be seen as an apparition of the Virgin: for them, it could become Our Lady of Bondi.

He began to think about what would happen if people took this view and gained comfort from it. What if Mary of Bondi became a focus for prayers? If those prayers provided hope in a time of need, that in itself would be a good thing.

But what if those prayers were followed by miracles? That would be life-changing for the people involved.

The possibility of miracles became the greater good that tipped the balance. When he weighed it up, there were no positives that would flow from inaction, and yet many people might benefit if they found out about Mary of Bondi and embraced her.

What would the Church say?

He did wonder if he should contact the Catholic church to see what the official view might be, perhaps by taking the figurine to a local priest and getting his opinion.

But then what?

Let’s say the priest was positive and agreed it could be an apparition, what would that lead to? Was he expecting the priest to take the story up through the church hierarchy? And if so, with what purpose – endorsement? That’s unlikely: history shows the Church takes a cautious approach to reports of apparitions, sanctifying few, and those often only after many years, or even centuries, of investigation, review and proven miracles.

And if the first priest he met, or any others afterwards, expressed a negative opinion, what then? He would still look at the figurine and see Mary, so his view would not be changed by a clerical opinion.

Apparitions are approved by the people.

Historically, acceptance of apparitions has started with individuals and small groups, then grown over the years into the phenomena known today as Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Guadelupe, Our Lady of Fatima and many others.

Clearly, the people best able to decide whether to accept Mary of Bondi are the faithful themselves.

That is why this website was created and why reproductions of the original Mary of Bondi figurine are available for purchase. Now the faithful have a way to learn the Mary of Bondi story, and if they embrace her, the figurines provide a way to bring her into their lives.