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MADRID, July 30, 2015 (ChurchMilitant.com) - Locals are calling it a miracle. After a grass fire raged at El Goloso military base near Spain's capital, soldiers were shocked to find on extinguishing the flames that a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was left untouched.

According to Spanish news outlets, including Infovaticana, the fire that broke out on July 30 was the result of a heat wave, and was impossible for fire services to control, burning up surrounding vegetation in a garden plot at the military base. The grass was charred black except for the statue, flanked by pink and yellow flowers, also left unharmed.

Spanish news reported most of the soldiers had no knowledge the statue had even been there, and they were unable to explain how it had been left untouched by the flames or smoke.

The story spread quickly through social networks, some suspecting it was staged, but an investigation has confirmed the authenticity of the event. Photographs show the ground is completely burnt except the small patch round the statue.

This miracle is similar to that of Our Lady of Good Help in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. On October 8, 1871, the deadliest fire in the history of the United States roared uncontrollably across the Peshtigo area. Residents ran to the chapel and there spent hours praying the Rosary and carrying a statue of Our Lady in procession; the flames slightly singed the outside of the chapel walls, but the five-acre area around the chapel was left completely untouched, and residents uninjured, despite surrounding damage.

Learn more about Our Lady of Good Help by viewing this episode of Mic'd Up.

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