Alice Benlian's extraordinary healing in the Church of the Holy Cross in Damascus

Synthèse :

In December 1982, a rumour was circulating in Aleppo (Syria): in the heart of the Christian quarter of Damascus, in Soufanieh, an icon of the Virgin Mary with Child had oozed oil on 27 November 1982 into the family of Myrna and Nicolas Nazzour. Since then, spectacular healings have taken place.

Alice Benlian, born in Aleppo in 1933, married with three children and deeply religious, had been suffering for thirteen years from total disability in her left arm as a result of scapulohumeral periarthritis accompanied by intense calcification. She decided to go on a pilgrimage to Damascus,to the Nazzours, only to learn that, on the orders of His Beatitude the Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Hazim, the holy little icon had been transferred to the Church of the Holy Cross in Damascus to be venerated there. On 26 January 1983, surrounded by friends who had travelled with her, she was kneeling in prayer before the miraculous icon when she felt a hand rest on her head three times. Her body was seized by a deep tremor, and then a ball of fire spread from her head to her inert arm. Instantly, her fingertips, which had been curled up up for 13 years, relaxed and regained their normal abilities. The pain disappeared: she had been cured.

In simple medical terms, this is how we can briefly explain the pathology from which Alice Benlian suffered. In 1970, she consulted Dr Pierre Salam for intense pain in her left shoulder. On examination, and after X-rays, it was found that the scapulo-humeral joint was swollen and the humeral head dislocated. Dr Salam prescribed an anti-inflammatory treatment, which proved ineffective. Worse still, a few weeks later, during a new consultation, he noted that the fingers had no extension and the hand had a swan-neck deformity (i.e. the radial nerve had been affected). New X-rays showed massive calcifications, on which intra-articular infiltrations carried out by the rheumatologist Dr Taoutel had no effect. The definitive disability was confirmed on several occasions by several doctors (from Aleppo, Beirut, etc.) - the most recent being a German specialist in 1982 - since the abduction movement of the arm did not exceed 35°. Amyotrophy of the extensors and intermetacarpals had set in, and the hand was continually flexed on a painful wrist. Finally, Dr Salam told her: "There's nothing to be done, unfortunately, it's a permanent handicap".

At the beginning of February 1983, Dr Salam said: "I happened to drop in on Mrs Benlian's husband, who was a garage mechanic, to have my car repaired. After the usual greetings, out of the blue, he says to me: "What do you think of my wife's arm? I replied: "Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do, you know that, and it's permanent. After two years following the accident, it's difficult to regain mobility. And your wife has lost this mobility for thirteen years! He said to me: "She was thinking of coming to see you. She went to Damascus to visit the Virgin of Soufanieh and she's completely cured!" A short time later, a beaming Mrs Alice Benlian walked into my practice: "Look, Doctor, the Blessed Virgin healed me in a few seconds while I was praying to her!" And then she told me in detail what had happened to her."

Doctor Salam was amazed: "I examined her: abduction has returned to 90°, the forearm opens normally to 180° in relation to the arm, the hand can grip completely, despite the persistent amyotrophy of the extensor muscles, the swan's neck has disappeared and the wrist rises normally. The new X-rays I prescribed for her make his recovery incomprehensible. Personally, I have no scientific explanation to offer for this patient, who is doing very well and has resumed a completely normal life at home."

Two years later, on 30 April 1985, Father Elias Zahlaoui, the priest who records all the miraculous cures at Our Lady of Soufanieh, travelled to Aleppo with Nabil Choukair, a cameraman. They met up Dr Salam and his patient, Mrs Alice Benlian, at the Kalimé hospital, run by the Sisters of Perpetual Help, to record their testimony on video.

Dr Salam spoke first and explained his patient's case at length, and how the condition had worsened over thirteen years, since Mrs Benlian's arm and hand were unresponsive. When he came to the instantaneous recovery, which was medically inexplicable, he held up the x-rays and testified in five languages (He can speak seven languages fluently, including French, Arabic, English, Turkish and Italian). Mrs. Benlian then explained in detail the moment of her recovery, and her current condition: she has regained flexibility and mobility, and the normal use of her arm, forearm and hand. She expressed her gratitude, joy and amazement at having been chosen to receive this miracle.

Alice Benlian continues to give thanks through frequent pilgrimages to Soufanieh, as requested by the Blessed Virgin.

Aller plus loin :

The chronicles of the apparitions and manifestations of Jesus and Mary at Soufanieh in Damascus between 1982 and 1990, kept by Father Elias Zahlaoui, are available online.

En savoir plus :

• Messages of Soufanieh https://www.soufanieh.com/ENGLISH/messages.htm
• The apparitions of Our Lady of Soufanieh and the visionary Myrna Nazzour
• The  1000 Reasons to Believe articles on the apparitions of Soufanieh: "Apparitions and message of the Virgin Mary to Myrna" and  "Oozing of oil from the miraculous icon".