When window stains allegedly formed the image of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus in a house in the western Ukrainian village of Beregovoy, Christian locals started flocking to the site to see for themselves what some described as a "miraculous image" and pray beside it.
According to The Mail Online, the image of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus is popular in the Eastern Orthodox church, that's why some locals believe the apparent image they saw on the window is a sign coming from God.
Some of the locals who went to the site claimed that the house where the window was attached "exudes a calm presence," thus "spreading positive feelings." The window was later detached from the house and moved to the village church. Priests are now holding special services as people pray beside the window.
Some locals said the image of Mary and Jesus on the window is a great source of comfort and inspiration to them, especially now that they are dealing with warfare and uncertainty. Even though western Ukraine has been spared from the conflict raging in the eastern part of their country near the border with Russia, people living in the region are suffering from starvation, poverty, and destitution.
"Huge numbers are now caught between hammer and anvil; the separatists aren't looking after them, and the Ukrainian government won't care for them because they haven't declared which side they're on," Auxiliary Bishop Jan Sobilo of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia earlier said. "Not since World War II have we seen such poverty and destitution."
A lot of people are asking for food, medicine, and shelter from the Catholic communities, with majority of the elderly locals bearing the heaviest weight of all.
"Many elderly educated people, who previously had jobs, have been unable to face begging on the streets and have thrown themselves from windows and bridges. Such people often have no means of survival and no one to turn to, and have ended up starving," the bishop said.
