Posted on 08/14/2003 9:14:51 AM PDT by bedolido
Campbell, Ohio - The show starts at dusk, promised Tony Valvas, his eyes fixed on the Blessed Virgin Mary statue affixed to the bell tower at St. Joseph the Provider Catholic Church.
Stand at the corner of the neatly trimmed hedge next to the church's school, he instructed. Then gaze up into the statue's eyes.
Into its glowing eyes.
"There's something happening here," said Valvas, 37, who lives two blocks from the church. "I don't know what it is, and I can't explain it. But there's something happening."
Is it a miracle or a mirage?
Nobody knows for sure, but plenty of people are making a pilgrimage to the church at 633 Porter Ave. in Campbell in search of an answer.
Thousands have flocked to the town south of Youngstown since the statues on the bell tower - the Virgin Mary to the west, Jesus Christ to the east - seemingly flickered to life 10 days ago. The flow of faithful only increases as word spreads.
Small groups wander across the now-trampled grass outside the church during the day, when the glow is somewhat visible. The watchers shield their eyes from the sun as they look skyward, trying to catch a glimpse.
The throngs come at night, their parked cars clogging the streets. Many come from more than an hour away, and they stay until all hours of the night. Last night, about 1,000 crowded a courtyard outside the church, singing hymns and taking pictures of the mysterious illumination.
There's a spiritual energy present among the crowd, and many go inside the church to pray. Candles - many more than normal - provide a heavenly light inside the chapel.
"Sometimes, God uses ordinary things to speak to us," said the Rev. Mike Swierz, who oversees the 500-family church. "Maybe that's what this is all about."
Apparition reports of the Virgin Mary date to the third century, according to a Web site by the International Marion Research Institute at the University of Dayton.
Sightings have spiked in recent years, according to the institute.
In June, a report that the Virgin Mary's image graced a window at Milton Hospital south of Boston attracted more than 20,000 people on a single weekend.
"People are straining to find anything to give meaning to their lives," said the Rev. Thomas Thompson, director of the Marion Library at the University of Dayton. "That's why they reach out to these things. It's a tribute to their belief."
But few sightings qualify as miracles, and most can be explained, Thompson said. The image on the hospital window, for instance, is believed to be water marks caused by a broken window seal.
Skeptics outside St. Joseph say the glow there may be related to gold leaf put on statues in the 1970s. No investigation is planned, church officials said.
"Don't close your mind to the possibilities," Thompson said. "But don't be gullible and naive, either."
Naysayers and believers gathered at St. Joseph yesterday. Many toted binoculars to better view the glowing eyes and hearts on the statues. Others used videocameras to capture the image.
A group gasped as they watched a closeup of one tape that showed what appeared to be pupils in the eyes of both statues.
"Nobody paints eyeballs that way," said Leticia Gonzalez, 46.
Others noted what appeared to be stains underneath the statue of Jesus, speculating that it may be blood. Valvas, for one, said the stains appeared only recently.
Even a flock of birds circling overhead attracted interest as a possible secular sign.
George Mottle listened to it all shaking his head.
"If there was something here, the pope would be here right now. On his knees," said Mottle, 59, of Boardman.
"It's just the light, an illusion," echoed his father-in-law, Harry Dilisio, 82, who grew up in Campbell.
The woman next to them quickly chimed in.
"It's not an optical illusion," said Kathy Garchar, 46, of Struthers, who attends St. Joseph. "It's never done this before."
Garchar is convinced she's seeing a miracle, if only in the surge of people making the pilgrimage to her church to feed their faith.
Joanna Sims, for one, said she saw the light yesterday. The 50-year-old Youngstown woman said the piercing statue eyes touched her soul.
Sims then quickly excused herself and headed to her car. There was no time to talk, she said.
"I'm going home," Sims said. "I've got a Bible to read tonight."
Well said.
? Virgin Mary Statue 'glaring eyes'....at Abortionists and other Texas Demorats?
"You're right, Ray, no human being would stack books that way ..." said Dr. Peter Venkman
Thing takes over your computer and spies on you.
Somebody post a screen shot.
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