It's been eight years this month since visitors began flocking to the spot on 700 South near 300 East where many Utahns say an image of the Virgin Mary resides in the grain of a knothole on an elm tree trunk.

They're still coming, leaving candles, beads and pictures.

And as their devotion persists, so does the worldwide veneration of Mary, particularly among Catholics, many of whom have gathered in Salt Lake City this weekend for a conference devoted to "Our Lady of Fatima."

The phrase comes from what Catholics believe were repeated appearances of the Virgin Mary to three children at Fatima, Portugal, in 1915. A basilica has been built there, drawing millions of faithful annually.

Though there won't be any formal mention of the local shrine during the conference, which runs through Sunday at the Hilton downtown, organizer Sue Taylor said 500-600 people are participating in a variety of presentations centered on the Madonna.

In May 1997, the unnamed faithful who first saw the local image of Mary put up a ladder so visitors could climb up and touch it. At the time, believers said water was coming out of the "head" of the image, and they believed it to be the Madonna's tears.

As word spread quickly and the number of visitors grew, city officials worried over the potential liability as the faithful waited in line to climb the ladder in order to see the apparition, leaving flowers and candles at the tree's base and hanging rosary beads and pictures of the Madonna near the image.

Eventually, the city erected stairs and a platform next to the tree in Taufer Park to afford a safer view. But when winter came, city officials decided to remove the stairs built next to what had come to be known as the "Virgin of Guadalupe" tree because they were afraid someone would slip and fall, leaving the city liable.

The proposal sparked outrage, and the staircase and platform still stand, supporting those who continue to be drawn to the image.

Taylor said the kind of devotion the tree represents has had staying power for centuries, noting the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe after an apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared in Mexico City on the cloak of a peasant named Juan Diego in 1531. A basilica was also built there in her honor, where the cloak hangs today.

Our Lady of Guadalupe has been named patron of the Americas, and Utah's largest Catholic high school in Draper is named after Juan Diego, who was recently canonized.

Such veneration has led many to believe that Catholics worship Mary, which is not true, according to church teaching. The Web site for Utah's Catholic diocese — www.utahcatholicdiocese.org — explains that "like other saints, Mary is venerated, or especially honored, not worshipped, by Catholics. Unlike other saints, however, Mary is given a higher veneration due to the role she played in life as the mother of Jesus Christ."