Jen Thomas
Worshippers attending a church in Las Vegas have claimed to have witnessed a 'miracle' during a mass.
The miraculous moment is said to have taken place at the St Thomas More Catholic Church in Nevada during the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Father Edmund Nnadozie was preaching when the congregation apparently went crazy with excitement over what they had witnessed.
Advert
The parishioners claimed en masse that they had seen something appear in the fabric near the altar.
The fabric had been placed over a pedestal. On top of it was a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, celebrating a feast on December 12.
Pictures of the 'miracle' have been shared online, seemingly wrinkling into a shape like a 'human face'.
Advert
Ben Yzaguirre was one of the eyewitnesses.
He told Fox5 Vegas: "I believe it's a miracle, a sign from Heaven. It's beautiful to see, and I'm glad I was able to be a part of that."
Fellow parishioners have been agreeing with Yzaguirre and what he said he saw.
One wrote online: "I was there at this Mass. Miracles happen."
Advert
Critics have brushed it off as a mere coincidence, or said the group influenced each other and that humans naturally seek faces in patterns as a form of recognition.
However, Father Nnadozie said it can't be a coincidence, given it was celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe and insisted it was a 'miracle'. He added that not one of the 800 people gathered there had touched or interfered with the fabric.
"I looked at it, I'm like, 'Oh, wait a minute,' I looked at it again, and that was the face of, you know, it's Our Lady," he insisted.
Advert
It's been likened to the tale of Our Lady of Guadalupe from 1531.
It's said that the Virgin Mary appeared to a man called Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill, near modern-day Mexico City.
She asked for a church to be built in her name and the man gathered roses in his cloak as proof, despite it being winter when no flowers were usually found.
When he opened the cloak to prove it to a sceptical bishop, the roses fell, leaving an image of the Virgin Mary on the fabric.
Advert
The parishioners believe this is what happened during their mass too, claiming it was a blessing.
Nnadozie told Fox5 Vegas: ''I think maybe Our Lady was sending a message to us, 'Hey, I'm still around, I know today is a celebration of my day, and I can still show myself'.
"God chooses when a miracle happens, and a miracle can happen in Las Vegas."
Advert
"Sometimes the world or the community needs these things as well, and it's not just for us to keep to ourselves," he said, explaining it's a gift to all, not just his parishioners and those who witnessed it in person.