The Holy Snakes of the Virgin Mary

If you happen to be vacationing in the Mediterranean next August, you might consider dropping by the island of Kefalonia in southwestern Greece to behold the appearance of the holy snakes of the Virgin. It seems that around August 15, during the feast of the Virgin, snakes mysteriously appear, enter a church and congregate around an icon of the Virgin Mary. According to a local tale, in 1705 there was a convent where the church is now situated. When pirates put ashore one day with rape and pillage in mind, the nuns in the convent prayed fervently to their protectress, Mary, to save them. Their prayers were answered...sort of. Mary turned the nuns into snakes (and one imagines that the nuns were as surprised as the pirates by this development). Ever since this alleged occurrence, the snakes return every year in mid-August to honor their patron saint. The locals call this snake show a miracle; the Catholic Church does not. The snakes supposedly have the sign of the cross on their heads and tongues, although the filmmaker never managed to offer proof of this. This is a dubious documentary: repetitive, vague and ultimately unconvincing. Not recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Van Vleck)