One man’s stain is another man’s shrine. While some say this mark on the wall of a Bogota bakery’s car park is water damage, others claim it is a miracle.
Car park attendant German Flores noticed the mark during one of his shifts; he thought it looked like the Virgin Mary. Since the discovery, devotees have flocked to worship it. Fairy lights, candles and flowers have been laid around the mark to create a makeshift altar – and give the corner of the dank car park a spiritual vibe.
A worker from the bakery named Lorena told a local Colombian paper that every day, between 50 and 60 people visit the spot and pray before buying their daily bread. She was reported as saying many in the devoutly Catholic country believe the stain is a ‘miraculous figure’, not something randomly created by humidity. Lorena rejected claims it was wall damage or caused by a leak, stating that it was definitely divine because none of the bakery workers have caught coronavirus, so it must be protecting them.
Apparently, most of the car park’s Virgin Mary pilgrims pray for protection from Covid-19. But judging by the looks of things, they aren’t putting all their faith in her, as there was a bottle of hand sanitizer (2020’s holy water) sitting on the altar.
