February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Last summer, more than 75,000 people poured into the hospital’s parking lot to look up at the window containing what many believed was an image of Mary holding her infant son. A hospital physician had noticed the image, and word quickly spread.
Milton Hospital staff said that the image was likely formed when a sealant around the window ruptured, allowing heat and moisture to seep through and leave a chemical deposit. The archdiocese of Boston has taken no position on the image, saying only through a spokesperson last year, “If it leads to a deepening of faith . . . it’s a good thing.”
Milton, a town south of Boston, is home to thousands of Irish Americans who moved from places like Dorchester and South Boston in recent decades. Among the half-dozen observers outside the window last Friday afternoon was Mary McMahon of Milton, who brought along some relatives from Pennsylvania.
“It gives us reassurance that the Blessed Mother is watching out for us during these troubled times,” McMahon said. “And it helps to build up our faith.”
Hospital spokesperson Susan Schepici said that for the last year people have been leaving donations, mainly dollar bills, in a box at a makeshift shrine at the foot of the wall. Those donations have added up now to more than $12,000. Because no one has assumed any responsibility for those funds, the hospital has put the money into a special account until it decides what to do with it.
“From June into the fall of last year, we spent thousands of dollars for traffic control and security because of all the congestion, but we still haven’t made a decision about how the donations will be used,” she said.
During one weekend last summer, more that 20,000 people visited the site, prompting the hospital to limit viewing hours by placing a tarp on the window except during the evening hours of 5:30-8:30. The tarp was removed in early November when the number of viewers began to dwindle.
The image has remained essentially unchanged over the past year, with tints of green and red mixing with black and white outlines.