The Moore Reading Room at Kansas University’s Smith Hall was transformed into an impromptu television studio Thursday.

The star was Sandra Zimdars-Swartz, a KU professor of religious studies who was interviewed for two hours for a History Channel show documenting visions of the Virgin Mary.

No matter that it’s been 13 years since Zimdars-Swartz published her book on the topic.

“Oh my goodness, she was interested in the details,” Zimdars-Swartz said of the show’s producer, Nancy Gimbrone. “In all honesty, I finished the book in 1991 and I was tired of the subject. I haven’t thought of some of those details in more than 10 years.”

The interview was part of “Glimpses of the Virgin,” a two-hour documentary on divine apparitions that is scheduled to air in December.

Zimdars-Swartz was chosen as one of 12 to 15 people to be interviewed for the show because of research she completed during the 1980s that culminated in “Encountering Mary,” a 1991 book.

In that book, she chronicled six of the most-cited virgin sightings, including in Lourdes, France, where an apparition-inspired basilica draws thousands each year who believe the waters there have healing powers.

This was the third time Zimdars-Swartz has been interviewed for national media on the topic. The other two were with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and the A&E network.

She said her research wasn’t focused on proving or disproving the validity of the apparitions — only documenting the human reactions to the perceived visions.

Nancy Gimbrone, supervising producer for Weller Grossman Production in North Hollywood, Calif., left, applies makeup on Sandra Zimdars-Swartz, Kansas University professor of religious studies, before filming. The History Channel was interviewing Zimdars-Swartz about apparitions of the Virgin Mary.

For instance, apparitions are thought to have led to an 1858 Vatican declaration that the virgin Mary was without original sin, the idea that all people inherit sins because of the actions of Adam and Eve.

“These things tend to come to people’s attention more when there’s a lot of political, social or economic anxiety,” Zimdars-Swartz said. “But there are a whole set of factors. For one, you have to have a credible visionary.”

Gimbrone, supervising producer for Weller Grossman Productions in North Hollywood, Calif., said her interview list included scholars and people who had reported seeing visions recently in the Mojave Desert.

Thursday’s interview was supported by a three-person crew from Lee’s Summit, Mo.

“Sandra Zimdars-Swartz wrote a very good book which is kind of a benchmark for many other scholars,” Gimbrone said. “She’s a good expert for the History Channel. She has good credentials.”

The History Channel