For the town of Port Germein in South Australia, the nightly apparition - resulting from the combination of a street light, a wooden fence and a conveniently placed tree - is providing a much-needed boost to the local tourist industry.
The owners of the caravan park which plays host to the Christ shadow say they are booked solid for weeks ahead with people eager to witness the shadow's nightly appearance for themselves.
The face, replete with crown of thorns and beard, was first spotted about five months ago by Port Germein business owner Shelly Brooks.
Shadow spotter
"I looked over my husband's shoulder and said 'Jesus Christ'," Mrs Brooks told Australia's ABC news. "My husband said 'what is wrong now', and I said 'Jesus Christ'."
"It was a message of some sort but I'm just waiting to find out the answer," she added.
Mrs Brooks, who keeps a daily watch on the apparition says that no matter how windy it is the shadow caused by the tree does not move.
Nun bun
Now the Port Germein Christ shadow looks set to join a growing list of otherwise everyday objects that have acquired a religious significance.
And last year a Muslim housewife in Yorkshire, England, was surprised to find a message from Allah inside a tomato.
For Port Germein, whose only other claim to fame to date is that it is home to the southern hemisphere's longest wooden jetty, the Christ shadow has added another - some would say much needed - attraction.
In response to public pressure, the local council has said that routine trimming of the tree will not now take place.
Nightly marvel
"It is yet another reason to come to Port Germein," said Peter Moore, spokesman for the appropriately named Mount Remarkable district council.
"By day you can see our big, long jetty and by night you'll be able to marvel at the apparition."
However, the head of the local Catholic diocese, Father Arno Vermeeren, says he still needs some convincing that the apparition is the result of any supernatural power.
"Personally, I'm afraid, I'm a bit of sceptic," he told the news agency AFP.
"Shadows can occur in different combinations and clouds can have different formations and sometimes they can appear to be religious-looking objects," he said.
"Without something else to say there's something more there, I couldn't in good conscience convince myself there's more to it than that."