Some see Virgin Mary's image in hospital window

Some see Virgin Mary's image in hospital window Email| Text size – + October 1, 2008 05:05 PM 

(David Molnar/The Republican/AP) By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff Officials at a Springfield hospital say that they have no immediate plans for replacing a window at a doctors’ office building where some people say they have seen the image of the Virgin Mary. Thousands of people have flocked to Mercy Medical Center to see the image since a patient first reported seeing it at about 11 a.m. Tuesday, said Mark Fulco, senior vice president for strategy and marketing at the hospital. Fulco said that the hospital was planning to replace the window, which was originally put in place in the 1970s when the building was built. “Obviously, we didn’t change the window out when we heard. ... We figure the best thing to do right now is just leave it in place, until it can be fully evaluated and we can get advice” from the diocese of Springfield, he said. Nobody tampered with the glass or painted anything on the inside or outside, Fulco said. Glass experts have told officials that somehow water got between the two panes of the double-paned glass and the “minerals reacted and caused some type of acidic reaction that appears to have etched the glass,” he said. “What is unusual is the image that appears to have been etched,” he said. “Many people have said it resembles the Virgin Mary or Our Lady of Guadalupe.” He had no comment on what the image looked like to him. A spokesman for the diocese said it could take the church years to investigate, but called the faith of local Catholics “inspiring.” It’s not the first time that some people have thought they have seen the Virgin Mary in a hospital window in Massachusetts. In 2003, thousands of people were drawn to Milton Hospital to see what some said was the image in a third-story window of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus. The Archdiocese of Boston said that the image was not a miraculous appearance, but was caused by chemical deposits building up inside the window. Material from The Associated Press was used in this report. http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/10/some_say_they_c.h...