Holy relic on display

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — A tiny scrap of cloth from a cloak worn by a man who said he saw the Virgin Mary centuries ago attracted hundreds of Roman Catholics last weekend eager to glimpse the relic.

The "Tilma of Tepeyac," on loan from the Los Angeles Archdiocese, is on a 20-city tour. The La Crosse display occurred at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The tilma, or Aztec Indian cloak, was said to be worn by Juan Diego at the time of the Virgin Mary's appearance to him in 1531 that led to Mexico's Guadalupe shrine. He was canonized a saint last year.

Mexico City's archbishop sent a small piece of the cloak, encased in a blue locket, to the Los Angeles archbishop in 1941.