On any sunny, winter day, a silhouette in the shape of the Virgin Mary appears on a cream-colored wall of St. Dominic's Catholic Church.

While some believe the vision is divine, church leaders say there is a more down-to-earth explanation.

The sight, which the Colfax church's Father William Kinane said is a reflection of sunlight and not a miracle, drew thousands of viewers from as far as Alaska and Texas in November 1990, when it first appeared above the church's organ.

As many as 4,000 visitors lined up before the church one Saturday, forcing the city to close Oak Street, according to the Colfax Record's Dec. 12, 1990 issue.

The crowds dispersed after Bishop Francis Quinn of the Sacramento Archdiocese called the vision no miracle, according to the Colfax Record.

But the image continues to be visible for about 45 minutes in the morning above the church's altar every mid-October through mid-February, parishioners recently said.

These days, the silhouette appears at around 10 a.m., according to Charlene McShane of Colfax, a parishioner.

Kinane stressed sunrays filtered through the stained-glass window above the altar hit a hanging lampshade; then the rays hit the wall near the organ, creating the reflection, Kinane explained.

"It's just a natural thing," said Sheila Shelton, pointing out that the image first appeared after a volunteer added a second safety wire to the hanging lamps inside the church.

"For me, it brings the Blessed Mother to mind," said Shelton, a parishioner for the past 19 years. "It's a visual aid (to pray). But I would never say it's a miracle. It's just a natural phenomenon."

Like Kinane, Casey Haas, a volunteer church caretaker and parishioner from Alta, stressed the phenomenon is only a reflection of the sun.

"(But) people see in it what they want to see," Haas said.

While the image has different meanings to church members, Kinane sees the vision drawing some members to the church.

As Kinane put it, "if it brings people to church to pray, that's good."

Josephine Vanderlans said the image of the Virgin Mary she first saw 15 years ago drew her back to the Catholic Church after being away 30 years.

"It just took my breath away," said Vanderlans, 61, of Weimar who now attends church faithfully.

"You could tell she was holding a baby in her arms," she said. "It just kept turning, turning and turning. It is the Blessed Mother. No doubt about it."

Ed Marson, a longtime Colfax resident and a St. Dominic's Catholic Church member, did not become more religious when he saw the silhouette 15 years ago. He thought it was a reflection, albeit "amazing."

"It made you definitely think," he added. "Everybody probably has a different vision of it. But it definitely got people to go to church."

Television crews came from all over, Marson recalled.

"It also made a traffic jam too... for a positive thing for once," he said. "It got everybody thinking about their faith more."