Chelsea miracle

From the Herald Sun: The Miracle of Chelsea

COULD God be living in Chelsea?

That's the question the locals are asking after a fire ripped through St Joseph's Catholic church, leaving behind some bizarre symbols.

Firefighters and demolition workers were shocked to find images of four crosses on the wall behind the church's altar.

The crosses -- two each side of the crucifix -- have many wondering whether it's a strange coincidence or an act of God.

Some parishioners are already referring to them as the "Chelsea miracle".

The blaze broke out early on Wednesday and demolition supervisor Mark Barrett first noticed the crosses later that day.

"It's a little bit freaky," he said. "I just noticed on the wall there were four metal plaques and around the plaques there were crosses surrounding them.

"It's heat deflection, I have no doubt about that, but there are other plaques around the church and there's nothing around them."

CFA fire officer Ken Evans, of Patterson River fire brigade, was also shocked when he inspected the church yesterday.

"It's very weird and spooky," he said.

Mr Evans said firefighters had commented they had never seen anything like it.

"For the smoke to form in definite shapes is very unusual," he said. "It's supernatural or something. Someone's trying to tell us something."