Oct 1, 2008 6:36 pm US/Eastern
Faithful See Virgin Mary In Hospital Window
SPRINGFIELD (WBZ) ―
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Sister Kathleen Sullivan, senior vice president at Mercy Medical Center, says the image in a vacant, second-story office was first noticed Tuesday morning.
WBZ
Hundreds of people are flocking to a Catholic hospital in Springfield where many say they see the image of the Virgin Mary in a window. Ron Sanders went there and talked with the faithful who heard about it by word-of-mouth.
"Oh My God. I can see it. I got the chills," gasped one of them. Some praying, many taking pictures, some weeping, as many as 300 people at a time have gone to see the image in the second floor window of a vacant doctor's office at
Mercy Medical Center in Springfield.
Richard Fontaine, who has diabetes, held his blind dog, Vicki, and said he sees an apparition of the Virgin Mary.
"You can see her hands together in a praying form...but I think she's here," he said. "She wants people to come back to God."
Some of the faithful say, in this time of crisis, it brings comfort.
Sister Kathleen Sullivan, senior vice president of the medical center said, "I thought the same thing. Our world is in total chaos and yet here we are in the midst of this, experiencing some type of peace...and I think to myself, 'what better place? Here we are in a place of healing.'"
Sister Kathleen said employees told her someone first noticed it Tuesday morning. She said she's not sure what it is.
The hospital's marketing director, Mark Fulco, said the thermal-pane window was scheduled for replacement.
"The vacuum seal of the window has broken and some moisture has penetrated between the two glass panes."
Fulco goes on to say the window will not be replaced before advice from the Springfield Diocese.
A diocese spokesman says it could take years for the church to investigate the image and determine its significance.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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