Makeshift shrines have sprung up by the tree. People have been praying, crying and leaving flowers and candles as they look at the small opening where the bark was stripped away.
The silhouette in a tree on Bergenline Road in West New York, New Jersey is the image of the Virgin Mary, the faithful swear.
"It's amazing. That's a miracle itself. I cannot explain cause that's God's work, but I know how I feel and what I've seen people feeling here for 3 days. It's amazing. It is amazing!: Dile Marku said.
A fence and other barricades also have been set up around the tree, which is in a sidewalk along a commercial strip.
"All of the sudden I started getting calls from all over the world - Mexico, Guatemala, Dominican Republic. People want to come here to witness this miracle," West New York Mayor Dr. Felix Roque said.
The so-called miracle is leading the faithful to leave so many flowers and candles that the area had to be blocked off by police.
Not all are believers.
"It's just a coincidence. A big coincidence. It looks like they want to believe it looks like what it looks like," Nathan Weisberg said.
Most here believe that there's nothing wrong with that.
The mayor says he's working on plans to make a permanent shrine that he hopes will make West New York a tourist destination.
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