KUALA LUMPUR: An image resembling the Blessed Virgin Mary which appeared on a window at a private hospital in Subang Jaya has sent hundreds flocking to witness the event.
Photos of the image - which have gone viral - show the figure wearing a blue robe with a halo above its head, similar to well-known depictions of Mother Mary.
News of the appearance exploded within the Catholic community and within hours, the devout, curious and skeptic converged at the Sime Darby Medical Centre (formerly known as the Subang Jaya Medical Centre) to see for themselves what many have touted as a 'miracle'.
This image showing what appears to be Mother Mary was taken on Saturday afternoon and has been going viral on Facebook …
Clutching rosaries, Bibles and even bringing along aged relatives in wheelchairs, many braved the thunderstorm yesterday evening and gathered at the ground floor of the hospital's new wing singing hymns, lighting candles and reciting prayers.
Entrepreneur Jansen De Silva, was among the first few who turned up at the hospital when news of the apparition broke.
"I witnessed a fully formed image resembling Mother Mary on a window located at the 7th floor of this new wing. It was a truly amazing sight as the image was rather visible despite the distance from where I was standing (ground floor)."
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"On looking around, I could ascertain that there wasn’t any architecture within the vicinity that could have reflected this image on a bright sunny afternoon," he said.
De Silva added that there was also a voice recording going around among those present that afternoon in which the words "Fatima Father' were clearly audible.
"I don't know how authentic it is, but I heard it for myself from a woman's mobile. It also captured some murmuring in the background," he said.
Desiree Lewis, 32, had also rushed to the hospital when she got a phone call from her relative informing her of the apparition.
"I was in the neighbourhood when I heard about this so I rushed here. I am truly awestruck and in a little bit of a shock. I never thought that Mother Mary would appear here," she said.
As evening came, the colour and definition of the image began to fade but people continued to gather in droves.
By evening, the image began to blur.
Retiree Jane Loh, 55, said she was happy to have made the trip from Seremban to see it despite the image slowly blurring.
"This is a miracle and it happened at our doorstep. It is a wake-up call," she said.
A spokesperson for the Catholic Church said church officials will have to investigate the event to determine if it was a true apparition.
Some of the most famous sightings of the Virgin Mary took place in Fatima, Portugal in 1917, in Lourdes, France in 1858 and closer to home, in Vailankanni, Tamil Nadu, India. The authenticity of every reported apparition is subject to approval by the Catholic Church.