86-Year-Old Man Thanks Virgin Mary for $1.2M Winning Lottery Ticket

By C Barnett --
12 Sep 2016 --

A California man believes that winning the lottery was a result of divine intervention from a Virgin Mary statue.

For people in general, winning at the lottery is a matter of chance. But for this elderly man from San Francisco, winning the lottery was a matter of divine intervention. Daniel Mendez, 86, believes that winning 1.2 million lottery was a gift by the Virgin Mary to his family. Mendez won the “Set for Life” lottery and has told California officials that Jesus' Mother has had a role to play.

86-Year-Old Man Thanks Virgin Mary for $1.2M Winning Lottery Ticket[/tweetthis]

The 86 year-old gardener revealed that he has regularly watered the flower beds around the statue of the Virgin at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church. The flowers were planted by his wife. He would then purchase $4 worth of lottery scratch-off tickets with the hope that one day he would win. And for Mendez, his faith did pay off.

Mendez, said that he never asked the Virgin Mary for winning at the lottery. He said that the only thing he ever asked of her was protection for his children and grandchildren. Winning the lottery was just a surprise blessing for him. He believes that a happy and safe life for his children is more important than asking for lottery money.

Mendez has opted for the $696,000 lump sum option and intends to use a portion of his jackpot for renovations to the church landscape. Besides, he will be getting a new roof made for his house which he has been in urgent need of. The alternative he had was a payment of $4,000 every month for the next 25 years, which would bring up the total to $1.2 million dollars.

86-year-old man buys $696K winning lottery ticket in San Jose https://t.co/SP6Bt7J7gu
— Emily Kirschenheuter (@ekirschenheuter) September 6, 2016

Mendez also believes that he may have been responsible for the drought the area has been experiencing. Having stayed in the same house since 1963 with his wife, Mendez says that his house has been in need for repairs over the years and because of the roof, whenever the weather appeared threatening, he would pray for it not rain. He attributes the scarcity of rain to his prayers.

Officials reveal that the tickets were purchased from CVS Pharmacy at 1685 Tully Road. The pharmacy will be receiving a bonus of $6,000 from California Lottery for making the sale.

Whether the win was truly due to divine intervention or not is left for each person to decide on his own. As far as Mendez is concerned, this windfall is nothing short of a miracle by Christ's Mother.