Devotees and tourists are thronging to a north Goa village shrine to view what residents say is an “apparition” of Jesus in the wood of a plain cross set upon the stump of a coconut tree.

Benedict Pinto, a member of the local Holy Cross Committee, said the image was first reported by a local resident who went to pray at the cross in Candolim yesterday.

A devotee said he experienced an intense light while praying and some mild pain in his chest before he first saw the image.

Many visitors who have been to the site agree that the top of the cross bears an image which resembles the face of Christ.

“The cross has been at the site for over a hundred years and miraculous events have occurred in the past when people have prayed there with a coconut shell filled with a special brew,” said Maria Menezes, a local resident.

“No prayer was possible without the presence of at least 10 devotees who would stand with the coconut shell filled with the brew. After the prayers, the brew was either consumed or poured at the foot of the cross,” she said.

People claim to have found jobs, women thought to be sterile have borne children and the distressed have found peace after praying at the cross, she added.

Several people who saw the image yesterday were not convinced they were witnessing a miracle.

“I don’t think it’s a miracle. It’s just a coincidence the wooden surface has an image that resembles Jesus,” said Servelo D’Souza, a visitor to the village.

Father Francis Caldeira, official spokesperson of Goa archdiocese, declined to comment.

“We cannot make an official statement at the moment unless the matter is officially reported to us and we can study it,” he said.