Posted on 12/24/2009 6:34:38 AM PST by marshmallow
CAIRO (AFP) – Every night in the run-up to Christmas thousands of Egypt's Coptic Christians have been gathering in a Cairo suburb eager for a glimpse of a vision that has given hope to their marginalised community.
It is three hours past midnight in Al-Warrak, a poor working class neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital, and a 10,000-strong crowd is silently staring at the sky.
Then the appearance of a mysterious light over the church tower jolts the gathering into a frenzy of cries and ululations. It is the apparition of the Virgin Mary, they say.
Thousands have been coming nightly since the first sighting of the Virgin Mary on December 10, in the hope of being blessed by her light.
The prospect of benediction is a much needed morale boost for the Christian minority which complains of systematic discrimination and marginalisation in the Muslim majority Arab country.
Tea vendors and sweet sellers snake through the crowd where thousands of families have gathered with young children and babies.
"The first person to spot the sighting of the Virgin Mary was a Muslim neighour. He took a video and pictures and distributed them to everyone," said Father Fishay, a priest at the Warrak church, describing how he first heard of the apparition.
Hassan, the Muslim neighbour, was sitting at his local coffee shop when at around 8:30 pm, he saw a strong light coming from the church.
Others on the street began to notice the light and saw a bird circling above the church. At around 2 am, a vision of the Virgin Mary in her white and blue robes appeared, Fishay said.
But Muslim residents of the area insist it is a hoax, with someone creating the image with laser beams.
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I wonder when the building will be torn down due to protests?
These kinds of stories have always fascinated me.
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I don’t there were nearly as many Muslims in Egypt then.
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I expect the Muslim Brotherhood is even now gathering to do that very thing.
There are many videos of these miraculous events on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iew1flQb5mg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXvNzDj5tAA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSFDMcunpXQ
These same apparitions happened in 1968 through 1970 too.
The Blessed Virgin Mary says nothing, just appears over the dome of the church.
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