Image: Odimar Souza
The workers initially thought that the odd pattern in the tree trunk looked like a butterfly, but the equipment malfunctioned before they could finish cutting off the branch to have a closer look. Upon fixing their chainsaw, the crew resumed cutting the branch only to discover what Souza later described as a "piece of perfection."
The sliced branch, having what appears to be a burn mark from the cutting process, contains a humanoid figure that witnesses say bears an uncanny resemblance to Jesus Christ. News of the divine apparition soon went viral after Souza posted pictures of the find on his social media account. To date, the story continues to cause online waves, with people debating on Facebook and other social networks whether the image is "a divine sign,” or a simple case of "pareidolia run amok."