virgin mary seen on a tree trunk

What are these people smoking or drinking!!!
Absolutely amazing.

From the Brisbane Courier Mail
FERVENT Catholics in a crime-ridden New Jersey town are flocking to what they say is the miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary's image in a tree trunk.

On Tuesday, a crowd of several dozen people stood around the tree, praying, taking photos and swapping stories of what they call a miracle.

West New York, just across the Hudson from Manhattan, has been better known for crime, a depressed economy and a mayor who along with his son faces federal computer hacking charges.

But the town's central Bergenline Avenue is now the unlikely setting for a diminutive Ginkgo biloba tree with a knot that, worshippers claim, has the form of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

West New York

The knot in the tree that people say looks like Our Lady of Guadalupe on Bergenline Avenue in West New York, New Jersey. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

The Catholic Church has distanced itself from the supposed miracle and there's no shortage of scoffers in West New York, a tough place with a high Latin American immigrant population.

Yet on a sweltering summer's day, worshippers showed no sign of losing faith.

West New York

Crowds of people stand around the tree, praying, taking photos and swapping stories of what they call a miracle. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

Boisterous and implacable, they vowed to stay put until the town's troubled mayor, Felix Roque, protects the tree for good.

"We want to build a monument," said Maria Baez, 35, one of the first to announce she'd seen the Virgin at the tree and now one of the stalwarts mounting day-and-night vigils.

West New York

A police barricade surrounds the tree to protect it and it's worshippers. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

Already the base of the tree and an adjacent fire hydrant are draped in rosaries, votive candles, flowers and pictures celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe, a major figure in Mexican Catholicism.

Police have erected a metal barricade around the tree and a patrol car is parked alongside to ensure safety for both crowd and tree.

Roque has been quoted in the local press as saying that the town spends $US1000 a day to manage the situation.