Our Lady of Light in Zeitoun, Egypt is number 4 in my countdown of the Top Ten Apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
Many of us now think of Egypt as a Muslim state and, perhaps, the land of the ancient Pharaohs. We forget about the Coptic, Christian faith that came sometime in the 1st century AD, long before the arrival of the Arab invaders (around 641 AD.) Christ never set foot in Europe or the Americas, but he did live with his parents, Mary and Joseph, in Egypt. Egypt was the haven to which the holy family fled when Herod ordered the killing of first born Jewish sons in the holy land.
The apostle Mark, widely acknowledged to be the first to write a gospel, was born in Libya in North Africa. He returned to Africa soon after Christ’s death to begin preaching in Alexandria, Egypt. Thus the Coptic church was born, and it continues (although persecuted) to this day. Members of the Coptic faith are extremely devoted to the Blessed Mother. Therefore, it shouldn’t …
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