Striking, Christ-like image explained

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When an Ursuline Academy student was praying in the front pew of a darkened interior chapel of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor on State Street two weeks ago, she looked up and noticed this striking image on a pillar that bears a resemblance to the Suffering Christ. The shadow image is created by a high spotlight shining through a chandelier located above the altar. Hundreds of people have visited the chapel to see the image. “We know that the light shining through the chandelier created this image on the pillar, so it is not an apparition,” Archbishop Gregory Aymond said. “God can use natural means to assure us of his presence. However, the true miracle happens every day on the altar when the simple gifts of bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.”