Jesus found on leaf

Mimi DiMauro was doing yard work with her family in the fall of 2007 when her 24-year-old daughter spotted what looked to her like an image of Jesus etched in black on the edge of a fallen maple leaf.

DiMauro’s daughter showed the leaf to her mother, who also saw the face of Jesus in the design. They put the leaf away for safekeeping but occasionally showed it to other family members, who also saw Jesus in it.

The family began discussing what they should do with the leaf and decided it was, said DiMauro, "a blessing in nature."



DiMauro has read about religious images on a cheese sandwich and a potato chip that have sold on the Internet, and she considered posting a photograph of the leaf online but instead put the leaf away.

"I put it aside and haven’t done anything with it, but I check it regularly, and it hasn’t changed," DiMauro said. "Every time I look at it, I see the same image. I feel like it was something that was brought to us."

The leaf came up in conversation this week, said DiMauro, who thought with the arrival of spring and Easter, it was time to share the story of the maple leaf with the public. "I thought, maybe this is something that could be uplifting," DiMauro said. "At a time of so much negative news, it makes a little good news story."