Guess Who? 2009-06-06

Some see Mary in chipped paint at Burlington Catholic school

A teacher at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School in Burlington notices what appears to be an image of the Virgin Mary in chipped paint on a wall in the school's multipurpose room.

"I was sitting here in my office, and the kids came in," Principal Sal Trento said Friday, describing what happened Thursday. A teacher followed, telling him, "You've got to see this."

On Wednesday, a group of students had come inside after a rumble of thunder during soccer try-outs. Nancy Evans, a teacher who coordinates team sports at Blessed Sacrament, saw what looked like a sticker on the wall from the across the room, but forgot about it until Thursday.

That's when she got closer and realized she had seen chipped paint. She thinks it was likely caused by a ball bouncing against the wall or a chair scraping the paint when someone put it into a nearby closet.

To Evans, the image looked like Mary, the woman Christians believe conceived and gave birth to Jesus despite being a virgin.

Trento and others agreed. Though the wall will soon be re-painted, he plans to have the image preserved by asking an art teacher to make a tracing of a photo.