I wasn't going to mention it because it is so complex and technical but i thought everyone should know and judge for themselves. Everyone has seen it but few know what it really is. It is one of mexico's symbols and is printed on those religious glasses that contain candles. And you might not believe it but you're not going to debunk 500 years of investigations by nobel prize winners { chemistry and physics } , scientists , art professors , artists , researchers from ibm , xerox etc , MIT professors , physicians etc etc. It is from what i understand a mystery to science. It is a painting/picture/image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The artist SUPPOSELY is none other than the Blessed Virgin Mary herself.
I'll be as brief as i can. I'm also not writing a paper on this but i'll try to be as factual as possible. Juan Diego , a poor farmer i believe, was walking down a dirt road in the 15th century in guadalupe, mexico when he hear a chorus group singing hymns. In that group was a woman who claimed she was the Blessed Virgin Mary. She asked him to ask the bishop of mexico to built a church on that spot so she could console worshippers. He did as asked but not surprising the bishop did not believe him. He asked Juan for a bundle of roses as proof. At the time roses were out of season. He also had Juan followed. He returned to the Blessed Virgin Mary and she told him to go to the top of the hill. There he found roses growing and placed them in a cloth of tilma { i believe made of cactus fibers }. He then returned to the bishop and as he was unfolding the tilma the "image" before their eyes instantly appeared. The bishop weeped and asked forgiveness for doubting the story.
Now the story and existence of Juan Diego are in doubt. The TILMA and the image on it are not. There have been hundreds of investigators and dozens of investigations {hundreds of tests}. Some of the tests done are highly technical. Basically no one has been able to explain how it was done or why the image has remained in pristine condition for 500 years despite the fact it was surrounded by smoke from candles , lepers presented it against their skin , soldiers placed their weapons on it, flood waters engulfed it , a bomb explosed one or 2 feet below it , it was in the open acidic air of lake guadulape for one hundred years and ammonia burned a hole in it { supposely it repaired itself }. Normally tilma disintegrates after 15 years.
As as example of the technical nature of the investigations Alfonso Marcue , an official photographer of the old Basilica found what seemed to be a clear image of a bearded man { Juan Diego } in one of the eyes in the image { i call it an image because no paint strokes have been found in the original image - however it has been enchanced by other artists{those enchancements have faded and cracked} - a piece of the original matter was given to 2 nobel prizes winners - they said it wasn't paint and were unable to identify the material }. He couldn't believe what he saw and informed the basilica. Unable to believe their eyes they kept it a secret. In 1956 Dr.Buneo an ophthalmologists confirmed the image in both her eyes. Even more startling is that the images are exactly in the same position they would be found in live human eyes and exhibit the same triple reflection { samson-purkinje } that live eyes have and that " the distortion of the images agree with the curvature of the cornea ". One ophthamologist described the eyes as looking strangely "alive". The MIT teams may have found what appear to be human veins in her eyes { i've heard of the report but never read it } . Anyway lots lots more but you get the idea. I thought it might be good to know in any case.
