Our Lady Reaching Out To Us

Offered for your discernment:

This photo was taken by a pilgrim to the Rome City apparition site on August 14, 2001. In her signed affidavit, she said she believed the diamond-shaped figure which dropped down from the spinning sun is a spiritual silhouette of The Blessed Mother. This photo was taken with a basic 35 mm camera. The woman stated she had no photography skills beyond basic operational skills of any "point and shoot" operator.

This woman had just completed a rosary with her family on top of Holy Family Hill when she turned and noticed the sun was pulsing rapidly and was emitting a colorful array of light across the sky. It was a little after 3:00 pm and it was an otherwise bright blue sky with a few wispy clouds overhead. She pointed her camera at the spinning sun and this photo is what developed.

Please note the angle of the image and how it is slightly turned rather than square with the vantage point of the photographer. When shown to local professional photographers, they asserted this image is atypical of a distorted lens effect. Their consensus was that if someone actually had the skills to create this image with the most basic of cameras (inconceivable to our experts' knowledge) the resulting image would be squared to the focal point and not have this angular, slightly rotated position.

Possible Conclusion?

If one were to discern this to be a miraclous image of Our Lady, then you would see what obviously appears to be a diamond-shaped silhouette with a bright interior light at the "heart" of this image (Immaculate Heart of Mary). The rounded "shoulder" is suggestive of Our Lady's mantle draped across her outstretched arms as She is descending from the spinning sun.

Now, take a look at these images, captured with a similar camera from approximately the same vantage point, nearly 5 years later by one of the pilgrims attending the first Our Lady of America pilgrimage to Rome City, IN, on the afternoon of July 15, 2006. Do you doubt Our Lady is still reaching out to us?

We will have more photos for your discernment in the days and weeks ahead.