In the 1960s, the Virgin Mary appeared in Egypt before hundreds of thousands of witnesses

From April 1968 to September 1970, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians saw the Virgin Mary appear on numerous occasions above a Coptic church on the outskirts of Cairo. These Marian apparitions always took place at night and were accompanied by luminous phenomena. The Virgin was silent. Sometimes accompanied by Jesus, and once by Joseph, she blessed the jubilant crowd and imparted her peace. Many witnesses experienced graces of conversion and healing. These hundreds of well-documented apparitions have been recognized by Coptic, Catholic and Muslim authorities.

Zeitoun's apparitions © Public domain

Reasons to believe:

Our Lady's apparitions at Zeitoun are very difficult to dispute:

They were numerous.
They were well documented in reports and in the press.
They were observed by hundreds of thousands of eyewitnesses, including a very high proportion of non-Christians, over a considerable period of time.
They were visible to all, without exception.
They were recognized by civil and religious authorities.
They were accompanied by miraculous cures authenticated by the medical profession.
They were accompanied by deep and lasting conversions.
They were photographed by pilgrims.

Summary:

From April 2, 1968 to September 12, 1970, the Virgin Mary appeared hundreds of times in Zeitoun, a suburb of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. All these apparitions took place at night, between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., above the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. Mary.

During these apparitions, the Blessed Virgin remained silent. She wore a halo around her head and sometimes a crown. Her face, usually smiling, was at times serious and sad. Seeming to glide through the air, she moved above the church, her clothes flowing with her movements. Sometimes, she slightly bowed her head as if to greet the crowd. In some apparitions, she held the Child Jesus in her arms, who also wore a crown. On one occasion, Mary appeared in the company of Joseph and Jesus, aged around twelve.

There were hundreds of apparitions at Zeitoun, with the greatest number occurring around Marian feasts (the Orthodox Church counts 32 in the year). Apparitions were generally preceded by luminous manifestations (luminous globe, silent lightning, falling stars, diamond rain...) and could last from a few minutes to several hours. For example, the apparition of June 8, 1968, lasted from 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., without interruption. They could also cease and resume during the same night. Occasionally, luminous white bird-like creatures would accompany the Virgin Mary, floating in the air without flapping their wings.

In 1968, the average number of daily pilgrims attending the apparitions was estimated at around 50,000. On some nights, the number could exceed 100,000 (with a peak of 250,000). The authorities had to close the area around the church to vehicular traffic and relocate a number of businesses, including the public transport garage opposite. The jubilant crowds cheered the Blessed Virgin at each of her apparitions, invoking her with fervor. Christians sang hymns in Arabic. Muslims recited verses from the Koran. Others prayed in Greek. Many received miraculous cures, confirmed by the medical committee set up by the Coptic Patriarchate and headed by Dr. Shafik Abdel Malek, as well as by Muslim doctors. This led to renewed faith and conversions.

Several pictures of these apparitions, taken by pilgrims, have been made public.

Here are a few excerpts from the reports written by the authorities:

Father Constantin Moussa, parish priest of Holy Mary parish, wrote in his report: "After that memorable evening [of the first apparition], the Blessed Virgin appeared more than once and was seen by various other people, including Mr. Michel Soliman and his family, who live opposite the church. Our Lady appeared again on April 9. The following night, the nuns from a nearby school and my eldest son, an engineering student, told me they had seen Our Lady again. I rushed to the square and saw the apparition, this time in the form of a bust in one of the openings of the dome on the northeast side of the church. It was a luminous golden body."

Cyril VI, Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa and of the See of St. Mark, set up a commission of bishops and priests to investigate these phenomena. In their report, the commission wrote: "Eager to see the apparition with our own eyes, we spent several nights in the vicinity of the church. Finally, we saw the upper part of the Blessed Virgin surrounded by a halo. Then she appeared in her entirety and moved between the domes. Then she knelt before the cross and, finally, blessed the crowds. Another night, we saw doves as white as snow, radiating light. The doves appeared suddenly and disappeared just as mysteriously. They seemed to fly from the dome into the sky, and they didn't flap their wings as birds usually do."

Mgr Athanasios, bishop of the diocese of Beni Soueif, wrote after spending the night of April 29-30, 1968, on site: "At 2:45 a.m., the Blessed Virgin appeared and the whole crowd could see her. She seemed like a full-size phosphorescent statue. After a short moment, the apparition disappeared and reappeared at 4 a.m., visible until 5 a.m. During this time, the Virgin Mary moved towards the west, at times extending her hand in a gesture of blessing and sometimes bowing her head. A halo of light surrounded her head. There were also a few luminous, slightly bluish, star-like shapes. The scene was poignant and beautiful."

The members of the commission of inquiry set up by Cyril VI validated all the testimonies, especially since they themselves had witnessed the apparition, as had all those present.

After studying the reports and testimonies, Cyril VI declared: "These apparitions brought two great graces: the first is the strengthening of faith, the second is the miraculous healing of cases of desperate illness."

He officially approved the apparitions on May 5, 1968, and offered thanksgiving to the Lord for this miracle. On the same day, he declared: "The Patriarchal See declares with complete faith, great joy and humble gratitude to the Almighty, that the Blessed Virgin Mary has repeatedly appeared in clear and stable forms, for several nights and for various periods of up to more than two hours, from April 2, 1968, until now, above the Coptic church of Zeitoun, in Cairo, on the road to Matarieh, where the Holy Family passed during their stay in Egypt, as tradition has it. We hope that this blessing will be a sign of peace for the world and a portent of prosperity for our beloved and blessed country."

The Director of Information and Claims, reporting to the Minister of Tourism, produced a government report confirming the testimony of the employees of the garage opposite St. Mary's Church, as well as that of Cardinal Istaphanos (of the Coptic Catholic Church) and Archimandrite Airut (of the Greek Catholic Church), and attesting to twenty-seven apparitions of the Blessed Virgin.

Pope Paul VI aligned himself with the position of the Coptic Orthodox Church in favor of the authenticity of the apparitions.

Fabrice-Marie Gagnant. Member of the Mary of Nazareth apologetics team.

Beyond reasons to believe:

This miraculous event can be traced back to two earlier events. Tradition has it that the Holy Family passed through Zeitoun on their way to Egypt to escape Herod I the Great, who was intent on killing the Child Jesus. A second event is worth noting: the church at Zeitoun, above which the apparitions took place, was built in 1924, following a request made by the Virgin Mary in a dream to Khalil Ibrahim, a wealthy Coptic investor who had acquired the land four years earlier.

The apparitions returned to Zeitoun in 2015-2016.

To this day, many Muslims, both in France and abroad, convert after having visions of Jesus or his Mother, often in dreams. These are not isolated cases, but a frequent phenomenon that bears witness to Heaven's love for these souls.

Going further:

Christian Cannuyer, "Caire II (Le, Egypt)", in René Laurentin and Patrick Sbalchiero , Dictionnaire des apparitions de la Vierge Marie, Paris, Fayard, 2007, p. 154-158.