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A priest has launched an investigation after a Virgin Mary statue appeared to start 'crying tears of blood'.

The small icon of the Virgin of the Mystical Rose, one of the names Catholics use for the Virgin Mary, belongs to a family in Argentina’s Salta province and is still in their home.

The Frías Mendoza family, who live in the city of San José de MetánSan, released the story through a local radio station.

A red liquid can be seen on the statue’s face in the clip.

(Image: YouTube / LA GACETA Salta)

As news of the phenomena spread, excited residents marched to the town square hoping to get a glimpse of what many believe is a miracle.

Hundreds of Catholics visited the house over several days as the family’s dining room became makeshift shrine for the statue, local media reported .

But priest Julio Raúl Méndez has urged people not to jump to conclusions.

He said an investigation would look for a scientific or natural explanation before considering anything else.

(Image: YouTube / LA GACETA Salta)

Mr Méndez said: “The first thing the church does is to do a scientific analysis to see if there is a natural explanation. Only then, the possibility of a supernatural phenomenon is considered.”

There have been numerous reports of religious statues weeping over many years although only one has been certified by those in authority in the Catholic church, while most others have been proven to be hoaxes.

In 1984, following eight years of investigations, a wooden statue of Our Lady of Akita, another name for the Virgin Mary, in Japan, was found to have shed real blood, sweat and tears.