I write regarding the May 18 article “Why popes and other Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary.” The Associated Press article in the Maine Sunday Telegram, about the Virgin Mary, gave a good, generalized explanation of the Catholic devotion to Mary, the mother of God. I noticed that on the apparitions of Mary, the article included the three most significant appearances of Mary for Catholics, i.e., Fatima, Lourdes and Guadalupe.

I consider Juan Diego’s tilma of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe the most compelling because of the scientific details revealed. Only because of the empirical evidence from modern science can we get real answers about the tilma. One of those answers is that science cannot explain how the image was fashioned on the tilma. But one of many verifiable conclusions is: At extreme magnification, the eyes of the Virgin Mary reveal several people, as in a reflection of the people present when Juan Diego opens his tilma to drop the roses to the ground. An ophthalmologist was examining the eyes and fainted because he said the eyes were real and looking at him.

The Aztecs of Mexico, in 1531, understood that the Virgin on the tilma “spoke” to them. Mary’s skin reflected their skin color, Mary’s hair signaled to the Aztecs that she was a virgin, and the black sash indicates pregnancy. There have been other extraordinary findings concerning the tilma. It’s worth a further look.

Daniel Pryor
Gorham