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at her church in Al Ziton 1968 A.D

at her church in Al Ziton 1968 A.D

On the eve of Tuesday 2nd of April 1968 A.D., during the papacy of Pope Cyril VI (the one hundred and sixteenth Pope of Alexandria), our Lady and the pride of our faith – the Virgin Mary appeared in luminous spiritual forms in and around the domes of the church that is dedicated to her immaculate name in Zeitoun, a suburb of Cairo.

This apparition continued for many nights, for some nights it would last for many hours without ceasing.  She appeared in front of tens of thousands of people from every race and religion.  Everyone saw her, and they were beseeching her to intercede on their behalf.  They chanted songs and hymns for her, with fervent tears, and they were also praying fervently.  She on the other hand was looking at them compassionately, and at times she would raise her hand to bless them.  

The first person to notice this apparition was an employee at the garage of the Public Transit System, which was across the street from the church. The watchman Abdel-Aziz Aly, who was in charge of guarding the garage at that night, saw a luminous body over the dome of the church. He started shouting: "light over the dome" and he called the other workers in the garage. They all came and saw the bright light over the large dome of the church. When they looked closely, they saw a young lady dressed in white, kneeling by the cross at the top of the dome. Because the dome had a round, smooth, and very sloping surface, the men were struck with awe, as though they were nailed in their places watching for the fate of this lady. A few seconds passed, then they saw the kneeling lady as she stood over the dome. They gave out a cry of fear that she might fall down. They thought she was a girl in despair trying to commit suicide and they cried as they warned her not to jump down and some of them called the police. The pedestrians, men and women started to gather around. The view of the lady was becoming clearer and she was indeed a beautiful girl in a bright gown of light.  In her hand she held branches of the olive tree, and around her flew white doves. Then they realized that they were seeing a heavenly spiritual apparition. They directed flood lights to the luminous apparitionin order to remove all doubt from their minds, but instead, the apparition became clearer and brighter. They cut the electricity off from the whole area, but the lady remained in her heavenly illumination and her bright gown of light became clearer. She started moving around in a circle of light radiating from her body to all the directions around her. All the people then realized that this lady in front of them, without a doubt is the Virgin Mary. They started to shout and cry saying: "She is the Virgin ... She is the Mother of Light ...” They prayed with songs, hymns and hails all the night until the next morning.

Since that night the pure Virgin had appeared in different spiritual forms in front of thousands and tens of thousands of masses – Egyptian and foreigners, Christians and non-Christians, men, women and children. Spiritual beings formed like doves would appear first, and they would remain during and after the apparition.  They would fly all around the sky, raising people from their earthly atmosphere to a heavenly one. 

One of the most significant ways this apparition took place was that the head of St. Mary was looking down (as in the picture of the sad Virgin Mary).  She was looking toward the Cross and she would remain this way for a while; sometimes she would also bow slowly before the cross.  Although the cross is made of concrete, it was shining brightly.  Sometimes, an angel would appear standing behind her, spreading its wings. This spiritual scene would last for many hours at a time.

The Virgin Mary also appearedas a great Queen in a beautiful spiritual portrait radiating dignity, elegance and beauty. On her head was a crown that was fit for a queen.  It seemed as if it were made of diamonds and sometimes there appeared on the top of the crown a small luminous cross. Sometimes she appeared in the same way but carrying Christ, to Him is the Glory.  In this apparition Christ was in the form of a child, and He was in her arms.  On His head was a crown.  Some other times she would raise both of her hands as she blessed the world, and she would walk to the left, the right, forwards, and backwards in a very dignified manner.  

Many spiritual signs appeared before, during, and after the apparition of the Virgin the mother of the Lord. The appearance of tongues of yellowish flame would flash over the church and then subside and that occurred several times. Another form of the signs were the spiritual beings that were in the form of doves.  They looked larger than the doves that we know, they would appear about midnight or after, flying speedily in the middle of darkness illuminating.  They would appear and out of nowhere and then they would suddenly disappear.  These spiritual beings appeared in different formations and in varying numbers. A fact we should be aware of is that pigeons never fly during the night. Another sign was the shooting stars which were constantly falling and were seen to occur close to the time of the apparition.  It was as if they were coming down from heaven to glorify the Virgin Mary.  Another sign was the fragrance of incense. The smoke of the incense poured out of the domes in large quantities. Also, a substance resembling clouds, like a thick fog would roll in towards the church and then it would completely cover the church.

Also an illuminated cloud would appear over the domes of the church in large volume and it often preceded the apparition of the Virgin Mary.  At times, the cloud would slowly form the shape of the Virgin Mary. Sometimes the apparition of the Virgin would appear from the clouds.

These apparitions and all the spiritual signs were forerunners and announcements for serious or important events that were to come in the near and far future. They were also spiritual gestures from heaven, to indicate the Lord’s care for His church, His people, and our country.  

May the mercy of God be upon us all. May the Lord keep His people and church in peace, through the intercessions of our Lady and the pride of our race the pure Virgin St. Mary. Amen.