Flame-Retarded

Woman Finds Virgin Mary Apparition on Burned Kitchen Wall

from The Associated Press

MEXICO, Maine - Veronica Dennis was looking for a miracle when she went through her house in the western Maine town of Mexico after a fire this week.

What she found was an image that looks like the Virgin Mary on a fire-blackened kitchen wall.

After viewing a photograph taken by the Sun Journal newspaper in Lewiston, Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese in Maine, said the image is "amazing to look at." But she cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

Dennis' home caught fire Sunday morning after a space heater in her daughter's bedroom ignited a bed and a nearby dog bed.

The image was revealed when she removed a framed painting from the kitchen wall, which was blackened by smoke and fire.

Mexico Fire Chief Gary Wentzell, who downplayed the image, said the image was caused by smoke seeping around the picture frame