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Apparitions of Our Lady of Light-Zeitun, Egypt

Background

Zeitun is a busy, densely populated Cairo suburb that lies next to
the suburb of Matriya, through which the Holy Family (according to
tradition) passed during their flight into Egypt. Near one of the
Shrines that designates a spot that the Holy Family is said to have
rested during their journey, stands St. Mary's Coptic Church.
   The land on which St. Mary's is located orginally belonged to a
family of devout Copts named Khalil. About 1918, one of the Khalils
was trying to decide what to build on the land. He went to sleep one
night and tells of a dream he had in which the Blessed Virgin appear-
ed to him and told him to build a church in her honor and that in 50
years she would bless it in a singular way. the church was completed
in 1924. On the night of April 2, 1968, 50 years after the dream, the
Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to the inhabitants of Zeitun.

First Apparition-April 2, 1968
At 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday April 2, 1968, a group of Muslim workmen arriv-
ed at the gate of their place of employment, which was opposite the
church of St. Mary, for a routine changing of shifts. the area was
quiet at that hour of night except for a few women near a parked car.
Suddenly, there was movement from the middle of one of the domes on
top of the church. Two of the workmen by the garage gate stared in dis-
belief at the "white lady" kneeling beside the cross at the top of
the dome. A Muslim, Farouk Mohammed Atwa, one of the workmen, believed
the young lady was about to commit suicide. He pointed toward her with
his bandaged finger (due to be amputated the next day because of gang-
grene) cried out to her, "Lady, don't jump!" so concerned was Farouk
for the Lady's life that he ran to call the rescue squad.

The Lady rose to her feet, shimmering in robes of light. One of the
women below cried out, "Settna Mar iam! (Our Lady, Mary!) It is then
reported that the witnesses of this apparition saw a white dove appear
from nowhere and hover around the lady bathed in light. the apparition
lasted only a few moments, then faded into the sky. The next morning
Farouk Atwa reported to the hospital for his scheduled operation. When
the sugeon unwrapped the bandages, he was shocked to find that the fin-
ger was healed completely (From Egyptian paper, Watani April 21, 1968)

It is noteworthy that the Coptic Church celebrates 32 feast days in
honor of the Blessed Virgin. The last day falls on April 2 and commem-
orates Our Lady under her title, "Our Lady of Light" Because of offical
Coptic eclessiastical approval of thee appartions in Zeitun that began
on April 2, this feast day now honors Our Lady under both the title of
Our Lady of Light and Our Lady of Zeitun. Thus, began a series of appar-
itions that occurred at varying intervals for approx. 3 yrs. They are
unprecedented in numbers of people actually seeing the Blessed Virgin
at a single time. the apparitions almost always took place at nighttime,
on or before the feast days in honor of the Blessed Virgin according to
the coptic calendar, and were usually preceded by mysterious lights that
one witness described as a "shower of diamonds made of light." During the
first 2 yrs, the apparitions occurred 2 to 3 times weekly.

Millions of Witnesses of the Apparitions

The news of the apparitions spread and drew immense crowds composed of
Christians, Jews, Muslims, and unbelievers/agnostics to Zeitun. The
Street in front of the church was completely closed to traffic. Trees
and a building were removed to provide space for the pilgrims. Within
a few weeks of the first appariton, the crowds swelled to an estimated
250,000 people nightly. It was the firt time in history that Muslims
and Christians prayed together in large numbers. One of the witnesses,
Fawzia Zaki decribed the crowd, "We had to stand straight as a statue
with our arms at our sides, hardly able to breathe and were pushed for-
ward or backward by the waves of the crowd. Once we were in the crowd,
it was almost impossible to leave until they dispersed at sunrise."
(Our Lord's Mother visits Egpyt by Pearl Zak)

Eye Witness Accounts

Millions of witnesses talked about what they saw at St. Mary's Coptic
Chrch. Here is one description:
"The whole scene was bathed with a luminous halo surrounded with a
blue circular frame all ablaze. Little by little the vision became
more distinct until the figure of Mary became more evident to the
vast6 multitudes who filled the space surrounding the church...The
luminous circle seems to symbolize to me the perfection of eternity
in contrast to the fragmentary limitations of our seemingly dreary
mechanical measure of time."

Tremendous physical cures were reported by Jews, Muslims, and even
unbelievers, not to mention Christians.

By the summer of 1968, the appartions decreased to about 1 or 2 per
week and the crowds during the all night vigils dwindled to about
10,000 nightly by the end of the year.

By early 1970, the apparitions occurred on an average of once a month.

>From October 1970 onwards the number of people spending the night at
the church sharply decreased and the street was finally reopened to
vehicles. Suddenly on May 29, 1971, one final apparition of the
Blessed Virgin took place at night. Although the apparitons ended
in 1971, miracles of conversion and cures continue in Zeitun to the
present.

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Effects of Zeitun Apparitions

One of the immediate effects of the apparitions was that the Muslim
government in power at the time softened its stance toward the
Christian relgion in Egypt.

Muslim witnesses were reported to be among the most reverent of those
who honored the Lady of Light in Zeitun. (Islam acknowledges the
Immaculate Cnception of Mary and the Virgin Birth of Jesus) The cures
among Muslims were so overwhelming that the Muslim government found
itself in a position of having to ignore its long standing law pro-
hibiting the preaching of Christianity to Muslims in Egypt. While
the Blessed Virgin appeared in Zeitun, the Muslim government chose to
ignore the fact that the Coptic liturgy and homilies were broadcast
on loudspeakers to everyone in the street and could be heard 5 blocks
away. The miraculous events at Zeitun eventually lead the Muslim gover-
ment to the previously unthinkable position of cooperating with the
Coptic Church in efforts to prove Zeitun a place of pilgrimage for
those who wish to honor Our Lady of Lght. the church is called today
the National Shrine of Our Lady of Light."

History of the Coptic Church and offical Pronouncements on the Appa-
ritions by Coptic and Catholic Churches

The Coptic Church traces its lineage to St. Mary the Evangelist. St.
Mary preached Christianity in the vincinity of Alexandria (Egypt) and
became the first bishop of the Egpytians who converted to the Faith
during the first century. The current head of the Coptic Church, His
holiness Shenouda III is 117th in succession from St. Mark.

the Coptic liturgy is similar to that of the Greek Orthodox Church,
in Egypt, church services are performed in Arabic and the ancient
Coptic language, which is directly described from the language of
the Egyptian Pharoahs.
Although separated from Rome for centuries, the Copts retain apos-
tolic succession and have valid sacraments and orders. They do
not believe in the Immaculate Conception of Mary as defined by
Pius IX, in 1854. Instead, the Copts believe that Mary was san-
ctified only at the time of the Annunciation.

Since the visions took place at a Coptic Church, it is the respon-
sibility of the Coptic heirarchy to pronounce on the validity of
the apparition. And pronounce they did. On April 22, 1968, His
Holiness Kyrillos VI, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See
of St. Mark in Africa and the Near East called for an investigation.
On May 5, 1968, he issued a papal statement affirming the authen-
ticity of the apparition of the Mother of God in Zeitun. He firmly
believed that Our Most Holy Mother came because she had found refuge
in Egypt before her Son, Jesus Christ, and St. Joseph.

"Behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph saying, arise
and take the child and His mother and fly into Egypt: and be there un-
til I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek
to destroy Him...and He waqs there until the death of Herod, that it
might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prohet, saying "Out of
Egypt have I called my son." (Mat.2:13-15)

His Eminence Cardinal Stephanos I is leader of the Coptic Catholics in
Egypt who are re-united with Rome. He was asked by his life-long friend,
Pope Paul VI to investigate and report about the happening at Zeitun.
The first words of his statement to Pope Paul VI, "It is no doubt a
real appearance...." (Our Lord's Mother visits Egypt by P. Zaki)

Roman Catholic Cardinal Stephanos I investigated the apparitions for
Pope Pual VI in May 1968.  He said in his estimation they were true
transfigurations of the Virgin Mary worthy of world-wide pilgrimage.
It is reported that the validity of the apparitions were accepted by
Pope Paul VI. (Immaculata, April 1979)

Reflections on the Meaning of the Apparitions at Zeitun, Egypt

In an area of the world where the Blessed Trinity is neither under-
stood nor acknowledged by a vast majority of the inhabitants, doves-
the traditional christian symbol of the Holy Spirit played a visible
role. Not only did the dove-like creatures strongly form a Cross in
the sky. This sign thereby draws attention to the Sign of Redeeption
of mankind. the Sign of the Cross cannot help but take the mind of
the individual one step further to the name and mental image of Jesus
Christ, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity.

The Blessed Virgin appeared with a cross in her hand with which she
blessed the people. She did not refuse to show the cross to all-the
cross that testifies to God as Savior and the instument by which He
redeemed the world.

The Blessed Virgin appeared on the Coptic feast of Our Lady of Light.
She came to remind us of He who is the Light of the World. "The
Blessed Virgin appeared surrounded and suffused with light, the light
of God. she is shown like a luminous sun in the darkness. People were
so moved that they began to shout, "Hail O Mary, Mother of Light,
Mother of Our Savior..." (Nov-Dec. 1976 Christian Russia)

The Blessed Virgin appeared with an olive branch in her hand, the
traditional symbol of peace, to a particularly tense area of the
world. The olive branch is not only a symbol of peace among men
but also of peace between God and men (cf. Noah after the flood
Gen.8:11) "The olive branch ...is an invitation to reconciliation
between man and God to hasten the coming of His Blessed Kingdom of
Peace." (Nov-Dec 1976 Christian Russia)

Thoughout the long night's vigils, numerous shooting stars or meteors
were constantly seen falling overhead...As I watched them it reminded
me that our rich blessings all come from the CREATOR, who keeps all
in His control." (Our Lord's Mother visists Egypt by P. Zaki)

"There was no message but definitely faith in God and in the supernatual
had been strengthened. Christians and non-Christians reported that what
they say in Zeitun brought them back faith in God. Hundreds of missions
could not do what the apparitions here have done. People are beginning
to think of Christianity in a new way, especially those who were antagon-
istic." (Our Lady returns to Egypt by Fr. J. Palmer, OSB)

Most remarkable is the stance of the Blessed Virgin and the rays issuing
forth from her hands. Roman Catholics recognize this pose as almost ex-
actly the way Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830.  At
that time, Our Lady requested that a medal be struck with this pose and
rays of light streaming from her hands. The pose was to be encircled with
the words, "O Mary Conceived without Sin, Pray for Us Who Have Recourse
to thee"- a confirmation of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. While those
in Zeitun who saw the light streaming from the hands of the Blessed Virgin
may have only understood them to be beams of light, it was revealed to
St. Catherine Laboure that, in fact, what was issuing forth through the
hands of the Blessed Virgin were graces from God-a confirmation of Mary's
title as Mediatrix of all Graces.

Our Blesed Mother appeared to the crowds as if praying. In 9 out of 10
appearances, she was found in an attitude of prayer. She ws saying in a
sense 'do as I do, the world needs prayer for salvation' and I believe
her appearances are the further preparation before the second Coming of
Our Lord and Savior."

Mary saw athe Blessed Virgin with a glorious crown on her head. As in
Knock, Our Lady demonstrated her queenship and, therefore, her profound
concern for all people.

In the heart of the Muslim Middle East, the Blessed Virgin appeared once
with the infant Jesus-a depiction of the incarnation-once with St. Joseph,
and at least once with the child Jesus (about 12 yrs. old)-a reminder of
the Holy Family's journey to the temple and Jesus' discourse with the
temple elders.

No contemporary apparition of the Blessed Virgin would be complete with-
out some reference to the rosary and Zeitun is no exception. The blessed
Virgin held out or perhaps offered to the crowds of Muslims, Jews, non-
believers, and Christians the rosary on at least one occasion. The rosary
is the preeminent prayer, second only to the Mass, and this is a reminder
to pray for peace. In the same vein, the rosary recalls to mind the saying,
"The family that prays together, stays together."

Thank you and God Bless,
Jill

Steve Coapman wrote:
>
> Hi, Hope you are doing fine.
> Maged N. Kamel, MD suggested that I ask my question to you.
> Do you, or someone you may know of, know where I could get a video
> on the Zeitun Miracle.     Just that one miracle?
> Thanks for any information. src@edge.net


Dear Steve,
   I have no inform on a video but I do have information on the
apparition itself.

   The apparition in Knock (1879) and the apparitions in Zeitun, Egypt
(1968-1971), and in Shoubra Egypt (1986) were silent apparitions in
that there were no messages given by the Blessed Virgin-not even one
word.
   A picture is worth a thousand words and the silence maintained at
these three apparitions provided a superior means of communication to
those who witnessed the heavenly phenomenia. There were 15 witnesses
at Knock, millions in Zeitun, and tens of thousands at Shoubra.
   Silence speaks directly to the heart, bypassing the sometimes biased
filter of the mind. Not one witness at any of these three apparitions
fell into ectasy.
   What is so impressive about these three apparition sites is the imact
of just seeing the Blessed Virgin had on the witnesses. In Knock, Ireland,
severe persecution, starvation, and illness faded into the background as
the 2-hour apparition of the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, St. John and
the Lam on the altar manifested itself. The renew strength, and most
especially the hope, this one very brief apparition gave to the people
of Ireland was immeasurable.
   In Egypt, Moselems, Jews, Protestants, Mormans, Coptics, and Catholics
saw the Blessed Virgin. It is interesting to note that the appartions in
Zeitun were predicted in 1962 by a young lady in Lithuania to whom the
Blessed Virgin was appearing. The outpouring of devotion and prayers by
witnesses of all faiths represented at the Zeitun apparitions is unprece-
dented. Just to be able to assemble numerous believers of the majoy Mon-
otheistic relgions (Jews, Moslems, and Christians)around one church and
see them pray together is an impressive feat that has yet to be matched.

   These 3 appartions have more in common than just silence. All three
have apocalyptic themes. The apparitions at Shoubra and Zeitun in Egypt
were interpreted by Cotic Church officials to be a preparation for the
Second Comming of Christ. The Blessed Virgin's mission, as was dramatic-
ally emphasized in Egypt, is not restricted to any race or creed. The
Copts, like the Roman Catholics, believe in a salvific role of the
Blessed Virgin.
"Her role is to prepare for Jesus. this she did (at the first advent)
Physically by giving Him a body which could conquer death, by giving
Him hadns with which He could bless His children and feet with which
He could seek out the lost sheep. But as she prepared His Body, so she
now prepares souls for His coming." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)

Thank you and God Bless,
Jill
Who will continue a post on Zeitun.....