Other sightings have been notable but are not church approved, including:
Evesham, England (709 A.D.); Walsingham, England (1061); Chiquinquira,
Columbia (1586); Quito, Ecuador (1594); Vailankanni, India (1600); Siluva,
Lithuania (1608); Aparecida, Brazil (1717); Rome, Italy (1842); Lichen
Stary, Poland (1850); Pellevoisin, France (1874); Marpingen, Germany
(1876); Peking, China (1900); Sheshan, Shanghai, China (1900); Ezquioga,
Spain (1931); Birgamo, Italy (1944); Amsterdam, Holland (1945);
Marienfried, Germany (1946); Rome, Italy (1947); L'ile-Bourchard, France
(1947); Lipa City, Philippines (1948); Montichiari-Fontanelle, Italy
(1947); Syracuse, Sicily (1953); Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico (1955),
Garabandal, Spain (1961); Bayside, NY, USA (1968); Wu Fung Chi, Taiwan,
China (1980); Medugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina (1981), San Nicolas, Argentina
(1983); Surbiton, U.K. (1985); Belpasso, Italy (1986); Hrushiv, Ukraine
(1987); Kurescek, Slovenia (1989); Clearwater, Florida (1996); Montreal,
Canada (1998); Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA (1998); Platina, Brazil (1997);
Assiut, Egypt (2000); Hilversum, Netherlands (2001); Kodungaiyur, India
(2001); Accra, Ghana (2004).
The Apparition at Zeitoun (a suburb of Cairo), Egypt was profound and
heavily photographed. The apparitions were witnessed by thousands of
onlookers, of different religions, languages and nationalities. The
apparition in this case was silent, differing from those in which she
would usually appear initially to children, and communicate with them in
their native language.
The events began on the 2nd of April, 1968 at a Coptic Orthodox Church in
the Cairo suburb of Zeitoun. Suddenly, during the evening hours, two
Muslim mechanics and some women on the street noticed movements on the
dome of the church. The movements resolved into the figure of a young
woman, holding on to the cross on the dome. The onlookers believed that
she was about to commit suicide, one yelling at her not to jump, while the
other ran for the priest. Then one female onlooker distinguished the
image more clearly and announced loudly, "It is our Holy Mother Mary!"
For the next three years, the apparitions appeared almost every night,
sometimes clearly and sometimes vaguely. She was witnessed smiling,
bowing, blessing, praying, holding the cross, kneeling at the cross, and
waving an olive branch. The images were photographed, televised, and
witnessed by many, including the then president of Egypt, Abdul Nasser.
Oddly, some saw the apparitions clearly, while others could see nothing.
Christians prayed the Rosary while Muslims chanted that God has chosen her
above all women. It was only when the government, in 1971, began to sell
tickets of admission, thinking they could make money, that the apparitions
ceased to manifest.
The event inspired many conversions to Christianity as well as thousands
of miraculous healings. The Muslim mechanic who had first pointed to the
Lady of the dome on that first night had been scheduled for amputation of
his hand the following day The next day, when the bandages on his
hand were removed, the hand was found to be totally healed. Previously a
hotbed of terrorist activity and crowded with refugees from Civil Wars in
Africa, there was a calming effect by the apparition and an overall shift
toward peace, especially between Islam and Christianity.
For those who are severely ill and who have found little hope otherwise in
treatments, a journey to the pathways where the Mary Apparitions have
appeared, is not an unreasonable search. Some, more current activity,
which is known to continue to this day, could provide the impetus required
for the healing. You do not have to be religiously inclined, nor as many
do, make promises to the entities, as if the prospective
healing is something you must negotiate. If the illnesses that ravage
your body have changed your soul and made you a better person, then there
is a good chance changes can come about from seeking the locales of divine
visits.
