A glass window believed to hold the image of the Virgin Mary was closely examined Friday. An expert in glass structure and composition, along with an expert in stained glass looked at the details of the second-floor window at Mercy Medical Center. The faithful visiting Mercy Friday morning were surprised to see a cherry-picker rising to the window.

"They came with the truck and, I thought they were going to take the window down to study it somewhere else," said Adela Jiminez of Springfield.

But to her satisfaction and the dozens of other religious faithful in the hospital parking lot, that was not the case. But, the glass experts, who volunteered their services, did get a lift to the second floor window to figure out what created the image.

"They did identify what is quite possibly a deposit between the panes of glass," said Mark Fulco, the hospital's senior vice president of marketing. "There is a scientific explanation of how the deposit physically accumulated on the surface of the glass," he added.

The explanation will come in a few days, Fulco says. Meanwhile, samples of another similar window were taken for testing. For now, the glass in question will stay put.

"Certainly, at this time we are interested in preserving the window until we have some inclusive information about the window," Fulco said.

Since it was discovered Tuesday, the image has drawn thousands of faithful, and media attention from as far away as Ireland. Some who work at Mercy said they welcome the attention, but hope for an answer soon.

"I hope for the people that have strength, that it's real for them. But, I hope it gets easier for us to park," said Lisa Wargo, who works for a neurologist at Mercy.

"If anything, whatever they decide it is, I think how it's brought all these people together to pray - it's got to be a wonderful thing," said Mary Fiorini of Agawam.

In the meantime, hospital officials have restricted traffic and parking on the campus to a viewing area about 50 feet from the window. Rumors within the crowd began to spread that stars like Oprah Winfrey were planning to visit the hospital. Fulco said no celebrity has expressed interest as of yet, but they are welcome to visit.

It is still yet to be determined if the glass will be removed. Fulco said the hospital is waiting for the final evaluation, at which point they will review their options.