Our Lady Of the Underpass

In keeping with the "virgin on a burrito" theme of a past post, it appears that folks in Chicago have now taken to worshipping a salt stain in a Chicago underpass:

A steady stream of the faithful and the curious, many carrying flowers and candles, have flocked to an expressway underpass for a view of a yellow and white stain on a concrete wall that some believe is an image of the Virgin Mary.

Police have patrolled the emergency turnoff area under the Kennedy Expressway since Monday as hundreds of people have walked down to see the image and the growing memorial of flowers and candles that surround it.

Beside the image is an artist's rendering of the Virgin Mary embracing Pope John Paul II in a pose some see echoed in the stain....

The stain is likely the result of salt run-off, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. The agency does not plan to scrub it off the wall.

I've never understood the insistence of the Catholic church in elevating Mary to God-like status, or as James Lileks puts it, the "clanging errancy of Maryolatry". At the same time Jesus is usually portrayed as hanging dead on the cross. Catholics just can't seem to get Him down off that cross, which is really too bad because He did some of His best work after that.

These kinds of images occur naturally all the time. We had a flood in our living room, and right now we're living on concrete until we can put in the new carpet. Maybe if I look hard enough.....

UPDATE: When I went to post this Blogger crashed seven times and I thought I heard the little AOL voice say "You're an Infidel!". Probably just a coincidence.