When people heard about the image on a hospital window at Mercy Medical Center, a handful of onlookers quickly grew into a hoard of people snapping photos, clutching their prayer beads and calling their friends.

Sister Kathleen Sullivan says, "Some people believe it is our lady of Guadaloupe, others believe believe that it is the blessed virgin and others believe that it may be the Madonna."

Either way, it's far from the first time the blessed virgin has made an appearance. Rene Barthelette saw a very similar image on the window of a building in Florida.

Barthelette says, "All of a sudden the image of the virgin appeared and they tried everything to eradicate it, they threw acid on it and it stayed there until about two weeks after we saw it someone threw ball bearings and broke the picture window."

Some believe the Virgin Mary has also appeared in unusual places, like the belly of a turtle, or a piece of wood. Another image of Mary appeared on the window of a hospital in Milton.

When it first appeared, everyone thought it was a blessing, but when the the crowds got too large, the hospital covered it with a blue tarp,

Barthelette says, "That is a perfect image, it's like she's sitting there, to me she's sitting there and she wants to look over us."

But window experts brought in by Mercy say there's an explanation.

Mark Fulco says, "There was some moisture that penetrated between the two window pains, it is a thermal pain window which means there is two plates of glass with some gas in between and some moisture did penetrate between the two plates of glass and the minerals in the water caused some type of chemical reaction that has appeared to have etched the glass in what could be a permanent etching."

That's the science of it, but these believers have their own theories.

Sullivan says, "The beautiful thing for me is that this is just a beautiful expression of faith and belief and I think it has certainly brought the community of Springfield together."

Barthelette says, "Those of us who believe are looking for something, we're looking for cures and miracles actually."

Hospital officials say before the image appeared the window was actually scheduled to be replaced but now they will leave it up for the meantime.

They say for now, everyone is more than welcome to come and take a look.