About the Virgin Mary Church in Zeitoun:
The Virgin Mary Church belongs to the Coptic Christians in Egypt. In 1924 some of Zeitoun Copts wanted to build a church and asked a wealth man, Mr. Khalil Ibrahim, to donate and contribute a piece of terrain of land here. The Copts started to collect the donations and benefactions and during this time, Mr. Khalil is died. When they went to Mr. Khalil Ibrahim`s son, Mr. Twafik, in order to give him all the collected money they had collected, his son declined to accept the money, saying: “my father was planning to build the church at his own expense”.
Mr. Twafik, in conjunction with an Italian architect, designed a church patterned after Aya Sophia in Constantinople. The Church was completed and consecrated in April 1928.
The Apparitions in Zeitoun:
Forty years later, just past 8:30 p.m. on April 2, 1968, workers across the street from the church saw a woman in white standing at the highest point of the church’s dome. Then, as bystanders watched, the woman was bathed in a bright light. She rose in the air, hovering above the cathedral roof and blessing the people below. Doves appeared out of nowhere. And then, just like that, she disappeared.
Among the witnesses was a 31 year old Muslim mechanic, Farouk Mohamed Atwa. He had just finished his shift and was amazed at the sight. Thinking that she was about to jump off the roof and kill herself, he called out to her, begging her not to jump. He then ran off to find the nearest fire brigade.
Farouk had severe gangrene on an injured finger and the finger was due to be amputated the next day. Upon his arrival at the hospital the following day, his doctors were amazed to find that the finger was completely healed.
Exactly one week later another apparition took place and others followed on and off throughout the summer, drawing crowd of as many as 100,000 people. The last reported apparition was in 1971.
Finding the Virgin Mary Church in Zeitoun:
Click here for the official website of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Zeitoun (and many more photos)
Finding the Virgin Mary Church in Zeitoun:
Address: 122 Tomanbay Street, El – Zeitoun, 11321, Cairo, Egypt
Tel: +20 222-59-2928 Fax: +20 224-52-1915
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