Our Lady of Zeitoun

The Story

Our Lady of Zeitoun refers to a series of reported apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary above St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church in the Zeitoun district of Cairo, Egypt, between 1968 and 1971. The first sighting occurred on the evening of April 2, 1968, when workers across the street reported seeing a luminous figure of a woman standing atop the church's central dome. According to witness accounts, the silent, glowing figure appeared repeatedly over the following months and years, sometimes bowing toward the cross on the dome or accompanied by dove-like forms of light. The apparitions were reportedly seen by crowds that over time numbered in the hundreds of thousands, including Christians of various traditions, Muslims, and visitors of no religious affiliation. Photographs of the luminous figure were published in the Egyptian press, and no verbal message was ever reported — the apparition, like Knock's, was entirely silent. The Coptic Orthodox Church investigated promptly, and Pope Kyrillos VI confirmed the apparitions as authentic in May 1968. The events were also acknowledged by the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate, though they have never been the subject of a formal Roman Catholic juridical process. Tradition holds that Zeitoun lies along the route taken by the Holy Family during the flight into Egypt, which deepened the site's resonance for Egyptian Christians. The Zeitoun apparitions are often remembered for drawing people of different faiths together in prayer during a period of national trial following the 1967 war. The Church of the Virgin Mary in Zeitoun remains a place of prayer and quiet devotion, and the events continue to be cited as one of the most widely witnessed Marian phenomena of modern times.

Church Recognition

Recognized by the Coptic Orthodox Church (and acknowledged by the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate). Not the subject of a Roman Catholic juridical process.

Catholic Teaching

A sign of Mary's presence drawing people of different faiths to prayer.

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Practical

1 Additional Information ▾

The Church of the Virgin Mary in Zeitoun, Cairo, marks the site.

Go Deeper

The Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate's 1968 statement by Pope Kyrillos VI and contemporary Egyptian press photographs document the events; the Catechism's teaching on private revelation (CCC 67) offers a helpful Catholic frame for approaching them.