Virgin Mary or condensation?

2003-06-18 10:48

Milton - A piece of clouded glass in a hospital window that many say holds the image of a robed Madonna, her head bowed, is drawing thousands of religious faithful and other visitors.

At least five years have passed since a seal broke in the third-floor window at Milton Hospital, turning the glass a blotchy white. But last week the murky patches began taking a form that - without much imagination - looks like the Madonna.

"It seems like every day it gets clearer," said Sharon McGarty, an administrator in a doctor's office across the hall. "It used to look like just a dirty window."

News of the image has spread by word-of-mouth and the media, attracting more than 25 000 people to the hospital's nondescript brick wall and turning it into an impromptu religious shrine.

Dozens of bouquets have been placed beneath it. A large plastic container for money has also been set there, by whom it wasn't immediately clear. One hospital worker saw a mother bring her son, who uses a wheelchair, to touch the wall with his legs.

Officials at the hospital about 16km south of Boston have sought advice from the Archdiocese of Boston "on what appropriate steps to take" about the phenomenon.

To ease congestion, the hospital this week also asked visitors to view the image only between 17:30 and 20:30. Even so, cars circle the parking lot looking for spaces, and security guards have been installed to direct traffic.

Experts say the image is the product of a spreading chemical deposit trapped in the window pane.

"The phenomenon is basically the human ability to see pictures out of randomness. There are trillions of these and they just wait for someone to notice them," said Joe Nickell, a senior research fellow at the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. "There's nothing miraculous about it."

Try telling that to Alexandra Zahak, who plans to visit the hospital every day.

"An eye doctor works in that office," she said. The Madonna is "trying to tell us to open up our eyes". - Sapa-AP

- SAPA