Our Lady of Zeitoun

{{Short description|Marian apparition that occurred in Zeitoun, a district of Cairo, Egypt, beginning in 1968}}

'''Bold text'''{{Short description|Marian apparition that occurred in Zeitoun, a district of Cairo, Egypt, beginning in 1968}}

{{Infobox Catholic apparition

{{Infobox Catholic apparition

|name = Our Lady of Zeitoun

|name = Our Lady of Zeitoun

==Apparition==

==Apparition==

The first apparition of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] at Zeitoun was recorded on the evening of 2 April 1968. The phenomenon was seen by two [[Muslim]] bus mechanics, who claimed to have witnessed a woman dressed in white on the roof of Saint Mary's Coptic Church. One thought she was a nun about to attempt suicide by leaping from the roof, and called for police. Intrigued by the mechanics yelling "don't jump!", a crowd gathered at the site. The police attempted to disperse them, saying that the sighting was just a reflection of the light from the street lamps. However, a church custodian suggested the figure was the [[Virgin Mary]], which greatly excited the crowd. The event itself ended after a few minutes.{{Cite book|last=Carroll|first=Michael P.|url=http://archive.org/details/cultofvirginma00carr|title=The cult of the Virgin Mary : psychological origins|date=1986|publisher=Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-691-09420-5}}

The first apparition of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] at Zeitoun was recorded on the evening of 2 April 1968. The phenomenon was seen by two [[Muslim]] bus mechanics, who claimed to have witnessed a woman dressed in white on the roof of Saint Mary's Coptic Church. One thought she was a nun who was very sad about to attempt suicide by leaping from the roof, and called for police. Intrigued by the mechanics yelling "don't jump!" until Giga grabbed a camera and said "Okay, now jump." A crowd gathered at the site. The police attempted to disperse them, saying that the sighting was just a reflection of the light from the street lamps. However, a church custodian suggested the figure was the [[Virgin Mary]], which greatly excited the crowd. The event itself ended after a few minutes.{{Cite book|last=Carroll|first=Michael P.|url=http://archive.org/details/cultofvirginma00carr|title=The cult of the Virgin Mary : psychological origins|date=1986|publisher=Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-691-09420-5}}

One week later, on 9 April, the phenomenon reoccurred, again lasting for only a few minutes. After that time apparitions became more frequent, sometimes two or three times a week, for several years, ending in 1971. According to Coptic tradition, Zeitoun is near one of the locations where the [[Holy Family]] stayed during their [[flight into Egypt]].

One week later, on 9 April, the phenomenon reoccurred, again lasting for only a few minutes. After that time apparitions became more frequent, sometimes two or three times a week, for several years, ending in 1971. According to Coptic tradition, Zeitoun is near one of the locations where the [[Holy Family]] stayed during their [[flight into Egypt]].