Crowds of believers flock to Virgin Mary 'miracle' tree in West New York

[Oldschool]

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.


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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.


http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2012/07/25/1226435/067013-us-religion-catholic-mexico-nature.jpg
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.


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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.


http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/us-crowds-flock-to-virgin-miracle-tree/story-fnd134gw-1226435061063

[Oldschool]

I don't see the shape either, but if it gives them hope... There are many different shapes you can find in wood though, and some can look like objects, even the rough shape of a person or animal

[kong]

I don't agree, there is nothing wrong with looking for hope, even in the strangest places! There is too much bad in this world right now! finding a symbol, even in a tree will give these people hope and the courage to face the future..............I just feel sorry for those who have no hope!

[Oldschool]

We all need to find hope somewhere!

[kong]

so true!

[kong]

thats the same issue that a lot of people have, but they do not understand that these are symbols that people pray thru, not at. kind of a connection, think of it like a normal person who wants to talk to a very important person and he asks some one else to speak in their behalf.