Malaysia : Glass panel with 'Virgin Mary' image removed, handed to local church

Updated 20th November 2012

The glass panel at the Sime Darby Medical Centre (SDMC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with an image said to resemble the Virgin Mary has been removed and handed over to the Catholic church.

In a statement, Sime Darby Group said two glass panels from the North Tower of the hospital complex were removed Tuesday morning, 20th November 2012.

"SDMC has removed and handed over the two window panes. One of the panes has on it marks that some claim resemble artistic depictions of Mary, the Mother of Jesus," it said.

The glass panels were delivered to the Marian Church of Our Lady Lourdes in Klang.

The image had drawn huge crowds to the hospital since pictures of it went viral online.

A large group of people, mostly Catholics, gathered below the area at the new wing of the hospital since 10 November 2012, lighting candles, singing hymns and reciting prayers.

Traffic was heavy around the vicinity, with even tourist buses pulling up by the roadside. This happened daily since the image was posted online including Facebook.

Secretary Janet Tong, 45, described the apparition as “amazing”.

“It is so wonderful that our Mother has come to us in a hospital, where many of the sick are crying out for her help,” she said.

Several claimed the colour and position of the image also changed.

Businessman Sheree Rao, 21, who went up inside to get a close look at the window, said the image was only visible from the outside.

“I touched the glass, thinking it could be paint or something else. But there was nothing,’’ he added.

Student Nicole Jo Pereira, 20, said she believed the image was a call for people to do good deeds.

Teacher Kenneth Fong, 27, said he was sure of an image on the window. “But whether it’s from God, I don’t know.”

Photographs of the image, believed to have appeared several days ago, have gone viral on Facebook.

Access to the window from inside the building has been restricted by the hospital.

Catholic newsletter The Herald editor Rev Father Lawrence Andrew said the Catholic Church would withhold official comment until the image had been tested and verified by theologians and church authorities.

Catholics believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus Christ, is the Mother of God.