Dozens of people gathered at the home of the Torres family on
Swaner Drive on Friday as news spread about crosses of light that
began appearing on their bathroom window.
Dozens of people gathered at the home of the Torres family on Swaner Drive on Friday as news spread about crosses of light that began appearing on their bathroom window.
Three television news crews showed up to the home at 1288 Swaner Drive on Friday, and droves of people came to see the phenomenon after hearing about it from local news reports and word of mouth.
“I’m overwhelmed, but it’s a good overwhelmed,” resident Sylvia Torres said.
Neighbor Jesus Gonzalez, age 10, first noticed late last week that light from a bulb inside the bathroom created a cross of refracted light. Since that time, hundreds of onlookers have showed up to observe, pray and sometimes to speculate about what is causing the effect.
A luminous cross with a diamond-like aura behind it appears any time a light source shines through the window. The usual light bulb the Torreses use inside the house creates an image that’s nearly three feet tall, while candles create smaller crosses of light that are only several inches high.
Torres estimated that nearly 150 people showed up to her house Thursday evening, and the family anticipated even more people coming during the weekend.
At one point, police had to stop by to tell people that if they parked illegally, they would be towed, Sylvia Torres said.
The Torreses have limited visiting hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. because of the overwhelming response, and they are no longer allowing people inside the bathroom.
Nearly 30 people were standing in front of the Torres home on Friday afternoon.
Vanessa Kirchner, a teacher at Pacific West Christian Academy, appeared intrigued by the crosses that shown through the window.
“Hey, God’s still doing miracles,” she said. “If people want to use it as worship, why not?”
Gilroy resident Anna Montes said she found the phenomenon hard to explain.
“I guess it has to do with faith,” she said. “You believe in what you see.”
The phenomenon of crosses of light has occurred worldwide in recent years, according to various Web sites. A similar cross at a home in Watsonville drew hundreds of pilgrims during the week of Easter this year. The Torres family traveled to Watsonville to see the cross there, although Sylvia Torres said she was skeptical about that apparition when she first saw it.
The Rev. Francisco Miramontes from the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph in San Jose came to the house Tuesday evening after the family visited him earlier in the day.
“The cross in the window was white and very clear,” Miramontes recalled.
Although he believed the cross resulted from a reflection within the glass, he said it was a good sign. Many people in the past have shown him photos of images of religious figures found in the trees and grass other purported apparitions, he said.
“The popular religiosity of our people is very simple,” Miramontes said. “They see signs, and they respect the signs.”
He said he encouraged the Torres family to pray, to remain in faith and to maintain a good attitude within the house.
“The big miracle will be to have a nice community without violence, without gangs, without those kinds of problematic situations,” he said.
Sylvia Torres had similar hopes as people come to see the cross in her window this week.
“I’m hoping that people’s faith grows, that the crime rate drops and that people will start believing,” she said.
