A Heavenly Host In Georgia

A woman's claim to hear the word of the Virgin Mary lures thousands of miracle seekers to the remote town of Conyers

THE BACKUP ALONG GEORGIA HIGHway 138 begins around 7, before the morning chill has lifted. At White Road state troopers guide the tour buses and cars into a cow pasture, toward the PILGRIM PARKING signs. The visitors leave their vehicles, most on foot, some in wheelchairs, and spread out on lawn chairs across the farm, a one-story house surrounded by 30 lightly wooded acres. Many proudly display photographs of the sun -- fuzzy oval images, blazing auras, starlike bursts -- snapped on previous visits. Some read the free literature in a small bookstore, purchase OUR HOLY MOTHER sweatshirts or avail themselves...

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