Paranormal record / 1986

Marian apparitions at St Demiana's Church, Papadouplo (Babadublu), Shubra, Cairo

March 25, 1986 · Church of Saint Demiana the Martyr, Papadouplo (Babadublu), Shoubra quarter, Cairo, Egypt

29Thinly documented Paranormal Being / humanoid 18 sources

Shubra, Cairo. The eve of Tuesday, March 25, 1986. People living in the houses overlooking the towers of St Demiana's Church saw a light shine into their homes. Above the western dome stood the Virgin Mary. Her full body. A halo of light. Within weeks, thousands were gathering every night in streets approximately 4 meters wide, singing hymns until dawn. A committee of bishops sent by Pope Shenouda III kept watch and reported seeing her themselves, clad in light. Flames of light, white pigeons, incense and Coptic letters in the sky followed. In June 1986 the Coptic Orthodox Church formally approved the apparitions.

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Key facts

When	March 25, 1986 to 1991
Time of day	night, often before dawn; some apparitions in daytime
Where	Church of Saint Demiana the Martyr, Papadouplo (Babadublu), Shoubra quarter, Cairo,Egypt
Duration	several months; MiracleHunter places the last apparition in 1991
Witnesses	1,000 (mass sighting)
Witness roles	other
Found	testimony only
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	Coptic Orthodox Church papal committee (1986), report approved by the Holy Synod
Status	undisputed

The phenomenon

A full-bodied figure of the Virgin Mary, of normal size, dressed in white, blue and red and surrounded by a halo of transparent light, appearing over the western dome with arms stretched out to the crowds. Witnesses also reported flames of light turning from orange to very bright white, white pigeons, incense and Coptic letters in the sky.

Colour	white, blue, red, orange
Surface	glowing
Lights	orange and white
Motion	vertical climb or drop
Duration	1.3 hours

Our Lady of Zeitoun (related)
Our Lady of Assiut: Mass Marian Apparition at St. Mark's Coptic Church (related)
Our Lady of Warraq: the Marian apparition over a Giza church (related)

Context

The Church of Saint Demiana the Martyr stands in Papadouplo, Babadublu in Arabic, in the overcrowded Shoubra quarter of Cairo. The streets around it are approximately 4 meters wide. The church has two towers and a western dome.

Sources (18, most influential first)

Shoubra case page · MiracleHunter · Research organisation · org report
Apparation of virgin mary seen at egyptian church · UPI· 1986-04-13 · Press, book, documentary · news
Approval report, 21 June 1986 · MiracleHunter· 1986-06-21 · Research organisation · org report
Papal Order, 9 April 1986 · MiracleHunter· 1986-04-09 · Research organisation · org report
Papal Delegation statement, 16 April 1986 · MiracleHunter· 1986-04-16 · Research organisation · org report

Reputability

29/100Thinly documented

Keywords

People

Pope Shenouda IIICoptic Pope who ordered the investigating committee and received its approval report
Anba BishoyBishop of Damietta, member of the papal committee
Anba PauleGeneral bishop, member of the papal committee
Mosaad SadekWatani journalist, committee member and author of the newspaper's coverage
Fr Heg. Georgios AminParish priest who kept order during the committee's watch
Fr Heg. Dawod TadrosPriest celebrating the Mass of 20 June 1986 when the Virgin was reported holding Christ
Theresa Soliman YoussefSix-year-old girl whose sight was reported restored
Dr Fayez AkhnoukhDoctor who examined Theresa Soliman Youssef

Names

Zeitoun UPI Pope Shenouda III