Newspaper Al-Ahram
Publication date May 6, 1968
Language Arabic
A special committee inspected the area of the Zeitoun Church a few hours after the Patriarch’s statement was broadcast and proposed
The construction of a large grandstand facing the church.
The removal of all trees that obstruct the view.
The reorganization of traffic in the area.
The prevention of any form of exploitation of the visitors.
A committee from the Cairo Governorate and the Security Directorate conducted a detailed inspection of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Zeitoun yesterday, only hours after the Patriarchate released its official statement confirming the apparition. The purpose was to reorganize and redesign the area to accommodate the thousands of people flocking there daily, hoping to see the Virgin.
The committee included Mr. Saad Zayed, Governor of Cairo; Major General Mahmoud El-Sebai, Director of Cairo Security; and Mr. Kamal Hamida, Assistant Governor, along with the directors of planning, utilities, sanitation, and several municipal engineers.
Before their arrival, over a 100 municipal workers had already repaired damaged light poles that had been pushed out of alignment by the massive crowds. They also covered large portions of Toumanbey Street with sand after oil from nearby transportation buses made the surface dangerously slippery. Cleaning crews worked from morning till evening, clearing away mud and stagnant water that had flooded the narrow streets after “a water tap” near the church garden had been left open overnight for the crowds to drink from.
By 2 p.m., the officials had reached the church. Father Constantin Moussa, the parish priest, met them at the entrance and immediately asked that the trees around the church be trimmed or removed so that people could see the domes clearly, where the Virgin had appeared.
Father Moussa also raised another matter that the church had become too small for the growing number of worshippers, and there was already a plan to build an annex on the western side, in the place of eight large eucalyptus trees. Major General Mahmoud El-Sebai suggested that since there was already an urgent construction project, it would be best to remove all the tall trees that obstructed the view of the church.
The committee toured the surrounding streets and alleys. During the inspection, Governor Zayed pointed to a large two-story house surrounded by a garden, owned by the Tawfik Khalil estate, and suggested it could serve as a rest area for visitors. Later, another idea was proposed: A section of the Public Transport Authority’s garage—covering more than four acres—on Tomanbay Street, directly facing the church, was to be designated for the construction of a shaded rest area with open wooden stands, allowing everyone seated there a clear view of the church dome from which the Virgin appears.
These stands would also be equipped with the necessary facilities. After a full hour of inspection, and before the committee left, several decisions were issued along with recommendations to begin immediate implementation.
After an hour-long visit, the committee issued several immediate decisions and recommendations:
- Trimming the tall trees surrounding the church until they can be completely removed.
- Continuing cleaning operations in the area, particularly the removal of grease and oil residues left by Public Transport Authority vehicles.
Instructions were issued to Colonel Younes El-Ansari, Chief of Cairo Traffic and a member of the committee, to review and reorganize the flow and parking of vehicles in the narrow streets surrounding the church.
The Chief of Cairo Traffic had arrived on site with a rough sketch outlining the new traffic plan for the area. His plan included:
Designating large parking areas at a distance from the church for the vehicles of those visiting, and banning traffic on Toumanbey Street from 6:00 p.m.—the start of the evening congestion around the church—with vehicles diverted to adjacent streets.
Major General al-Sebai also instructed Brigadier al-Ansari to close off the area starting at 3:00 p.m. each day, so that street-vendors’ carts—now numbering in the hundreds—would be barred from entering after that time, following the decision to prohibit hawkers from the zone.
During the committee’s visit, Mohamed El-Hefny, Director of Domestic Tourist Offices, toured the site with a group of tourism experts to identify the most suitable locations for projects that would transform the entire area into a tourist destination.
Report by Hassan Abu El-Enein
How the Documentation Committee Works
The special committee formed by Pope Cyril VI to collect documents and testimonies on the apparition of the Virgin Mary began its work yesterday, preparations began for the publication of verified documents and miracles in a multi-volume book.
The committee was formed of two members: Anba Gregorios, Bishop-General for Higher Studies and Scientific Research at the Coptic Theological College, and Engineer Fawzi Mansour, Head of the Executive Authority for the construction of the new Saint Mark’s Cathedral.
As Anba Gregorios explained, the committee began its work yesterday by collecting reports from individuals who witnessed the apparition of Our Lady above the Church of Zeitoun, in order to study and classify them as documentation for the forthcoming book. The first volume is expected to be released during the celebrations marking nineteen centuries since the martyrdom of Saint Mark the Apostle, on June 25.
The committee divided its work into two sections:
- Collecting and verifying all documents and information regarding the repeated apparitions of the Virgin above the Church of Zeitoun over more than a month.
- Investigating scientifically the cases of miraculous healing from incurable diseases experienced by people who saw the apparition, confirming the medical evidence with physicians’ reports, and preparing either a dedicated section or a separate volume for these miracles.
Testimonies from Witnesses
Regarding the first objective of the committee’s work, Anba Gregorios, chairman of the committee, stated that all those who had witnessed the apparition of Our Lady above the Church of Zeitoun were asked to write detailed, accurate reports describing exactly what they saw, from the first moment of appearance to the moment of disappearance—and to note any changes in the apparition’s form or movements during that time.
Each report was to include the witness’s name, address, and age, so that, as Anba Gregorios explained, each witness would bear responsibility for this historical testimony, which the Coptic Orthodox Church will present to future generations as verified evidence of the apparition.
Medical Reports
To verify the miraculous healings from incurable diseases, the committee decided to summon those who reported being healed and to assign a group of doctors to conduct a scientific study of their cases and submit detailed reports.
The physicians assisting the investigation were:
- Dr. Youssef Yacoub
- Dr. Shafiq Abdel-Malek, former Head of the Anatomy Department at Ain Shams University
- Dr. Sadiq Antonius Bekhit
Three Specialists in Psychology
To examine the possible influence of psychological or emotional factors in some of the healing cases, the committee enlisted three psychiatrists:
- Dr. William El-Khouly, Director of El-Khanka Hospital
- Dr. Sabry Gerges
- Dr. Malak Gerges
The committee will record only those cases which the doctors confirm to be completely and suddenly cured, without any natural medical explanation, after witnessing the apparition of Our Lady around the Church of Zeitoun.
The first volume of the comprehensive book being prepared by the committee will include:
The reports written by the clergy who investigated the phenomenon, including Anba Athanasius, Bishop of Beni Suef and El-Bahnasa.
The eyewitness testimonies considered by the committee as official witness statements of the apparition.
A scientific and analytical evaluation of all the collected testimonies.
The Forms of the Apparition
The reports received by the committee so far agree on certain distinct forms in which the apparition of Our Lady appeared above the Church of Zeitoun.
The first was a full luminous figure, seen standing above the four small domes of the church, over the upper cross of the main dome, or even above the trees surrounding the church—where her feet appeared to rest upon the branches.
The second was a half-length figure of the Virgin, appearing above the domes or emerging from the opening of one of the four smaller domes, as though leaning from a high balcony. The apparitions of the Virgin often moved above the domes and, according to Anba Gregorios, sometimes remained visible for as long as two hours and fifteen minutes.
As for the movements of the apparition, they were described as gentle transitions, from the trees to the small domes, then to the main dome with its upper cross, accompanied by making gentle nods of her head forward and backward, and moving gracefully from side to side. The apparitions appeared most frequently, as Anba Gregorios noted, around the northern dome more than the others.
Regarding the colors in which the Virgin’s figure appeared, all reports consistently described them as soft radiant yellow and light sky blue.
According to the chairman of the committee, this careful attention to color had a spiritual significance, since each hue carries a symbolic meaning.
The yellow represents the divine radiance that forms the halo surrounding the heads of Christ and the Virgin in sacred iconography. It is followed by light sky blue, symbolizing heavenly peace, and white, signifying purity.
Thus, great care was taken to record the exact hues in which the apparition appeared.
By Abdel Wahab Mutawea
Eyewitness Accounts – They Lived the First Night
Farouk Atwa, a driver for the Public Transport Authority, recalled:
“On the night of April 2, I was signing the attendance register at the garage across from the church when I heard passersby shouting excitedly. I went out and saw them pointing toward the church’s main dome. I looked and saw a lady dressed in white standing on the northern dome, as if about to throw herself down. I shouted, ‘Be careful! Wait!’—but she didn’t move. Someone in the crowd cried out, ‘It’s the Virgin!’ I looked closer, it was the figure of a nun. Suddenly, a flock of white doves flew from above her. The whole scene lasted a few minutes, then disappeared.”
At that moment, one of the workers ran to the church and knocked on the door. The caretaker, Ibrahim, answered, and as soon as he heard what had happened, he rushed to the priest’s house.
Father Constantine Moussa, pastor of the Church of Zeitoun, recounted: “It was about an hour and a half after sunset when Ibrahim burst into my house trembling, saying, ‘Hurry, Father! The Virgin has appeared above the dome!’ I sent my son Nabil, a university student, with him. He soon returned confirming it. I went out myself and saw her with my own eyes, a luminous half-figure of the Virgin outside the dome. Some of the garage workers tried to shine a spotlight on the vision, but it only made her glow brighter. After a few minutes, she disappeared.”
He continued:
“On the night of April 9, all doubt vanished. I saw her in full form atop the main dome, leaning downward with eyes full of compassion, just as she appears in her familiar image holding the Christ Child.
On April 10, I saw her a third time, life-sized again, but this time she extended her hand to the people gathered below, holding an olive branch. Above her, several white doves flew into the night.”