Windows With Virgin Mary Image BrokenWindows in Clearwater, Fla., That Bear What Many Think Is Image of Virgin Mary Are BrokenCLEARWATER, Fla. March 1 — Office building windows that thousands of visitors believe bear the image of the Virgin Mary but experts said is just corrosion were discovered broken Monday, police said. The three top panes that showed what appeared to be the Virgin Mary's veiled head were destroyed, with just shards of glass remaining in the window frames. The damage was discovered when a worker arrived Monday morning and it is believed the damage was done overnight, police spokesman Wayne Shelor said.Investigators were trying to determine who was responsible. The image first appeared a week before Christmas in 1996 in what was then a home finance office, drawing almost 500,000 visitors within weeks. The office building later became the home of Ohio-based Shepherds of Christ Ministries.Stretching almost 60 feet high and more than 20 feet across on nine bronze-colored glass panels, the image evokes a stained glass portrait of Mary. Shades of purple, blue, yellow and green wash across the mirrored surface, appearing to outline a robe-draped figure with downcast head.Glass experts believe the image was created by a chemical reaction and corrosion of the metallic elements in the glass coating, but they could not explain why it took the shape it did.So many pilgrims came to the site that extra police patrols were in place for a time.Six months after the apparition first drew worldwide attention, someone threw an undetermined liquid on the shape, marring it. But after two days of heavy thunderstorms, the blemishes were no longer visible.
