The scene

Photograph by Nicole Radja

Like the virgin To skeptics, it’s nothing more than a stain. But to believers, Our Lady of the Underpass is a divine revelation. More than two years since what many believe is the image of the Virgin Mary appeared on a wall under I-94 on Fullerton Avenue, people continue to shower the makeshift altar with flowers, prayer cards, Mary statues and devotional candles. Around the image, people have scribbled pleas for Mary’s help. Rose Quiles, who has been visiting the site for two years, says, “She’s trying to tell people something. And it’s obvious people find some comfort coming here.” But Junior Estrada, a Catholic who passes the site every day on his way to work, finds venerating a concrete wall ludicrous. “It’s like when people see the Virgin Mary on a potato chip or a piece of toast and they worship it,” Estrada says. “It’s just plain silly.”