Mother Teresa seen in slice of cheese

Sliva's cheese, left, Teresa, right.

An American woman claims to have found an image of beatified Roman Catholic nun Mother Teresa in a slice of cheese, claiming the discovery miraculously helped cure her sore throat.

Monica Sliva, of Turlock, California, says she saw the celebrated religious figure’s likeness in a slice of cheddar after falling ill and seeking solace in her refrigerator.

Sliva, who describes herself as a “really religious person”, says a friend had brought her a photograph of Mother Teresa earlier in the day, to cheer her up.

“I was real sick on Monday and she brought it over. On Monday night I came to cut some cheese — I don’t know why, I already had some cut. And all of a sudden a small piece came into my hand,” she told local news network Fox40.

“I started shaking and crying and I saw Mother Teresa there.”

Sliva says the discovery, formed from a piece of Apple cheddar cheese, is now being preserved in her freezer.

She says she has no intention of selling the cheese, and the discovery may persuade her to become a nun herself.

“Out of 56 people that I have shown it to, from church people, neighbours, friends and even co-workers, 52 of them recognized her. I couldn’t sell something like this. I am a really religious person.”

Sliva’s discovery is not the first time a holy image has been seen in cheese,

In 1994, a Florida woman said she had spotted an picture of the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich. In 2004 she auctioned the preserved snack for $28,000 to an internet casino.