Virgin Mary Rock on KMOT-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader

Virgin Mary Rock | Video

Cliff Naylor

7/24/2009

Sometimes cloud formations or the way the sunlight bounces off rocks can illuminate inspiring images.

That`s the case with an unusual boulder near Crosby, along Highway 5.

Many motorists who travel Highway 5 near Crosby have experienced the divine inspiration of The Virgin Mary.

"Lots of people have seen it, some say they can`t see it at all and other people see it right away and it really depends on the time of day," says Shanon Gjovig, of Ambrose.

Gjovig says the best time to visualize the image of the Virgin Mary on this 10-foot tall piece of field stone is around 7:00 or 8:00 in the evening. He says light from the setting sun creates shadows on the rock that creates a likeness of The Virgin Mary.

"It looks like the Virgin Mary holding a baby when you`re coming from the west," says observer Dan Goff.

Goff was one of the first to witness the Marian apparition and now many other people claim to be able to see it too.

"As soon I drove over I could see it, the silhouette of it," Gjovig says.

The Virgin Mary rock is located in a cattle pasture on the south side of Highway 5, about 10 1/2 miles west of Crosby. People who look closely at this video, say they can make out the likeness of a woman`s face at the top of the rock, with a veil and flowing robes that extend down the side of the figure to the ground.

"You can see the head here from a distance and then it goes down and you can see the shawl," Gjovig says.

He originally intended to paint this boulder with some type of art work, but since it seems to already contain an image, he plans to leave the rock as is, so it can create an impression on people who pass by.

The Virgin Mary rock weighs 10,000 pounds and is located on the south side of Highway 5, 10 1/2 miles west of Crosby.

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