76 TIME-LIFE MIRACLES OF FAITH
officials in 1941, because, she said, it was time to do so.
Called the Three Secrets of Fátima, the messages Lú-
cia detailed were alarming. The first was a description of
hell: a vast fiery sea, Lúcia later wrote in a memoir, seeth-
ing with human souls screaming in agony. The second
included a warning: If people did not stop sinning, there
would be another, even worse war. Lúcia revealed those
in 1941, at the request of her local bishop, but she asked
Church officials not to make the third secret public until
after 1960. In fact, they did not do so until 2000.
The third secret included the prediction that a pope
would be assassinated, something that nearly happened
in 1981. But many continue to believe that the Church has
held back part of the prophecy. Does itreveal a coming
apocalypse? Only the Vatican knows for sure.
Keep the Faith
CAIRO, EGYPT, 1968
Egypt is primarily Muslim, but it holds a special signifi-
cance to Christians as the place to which Mary and Jo-
seph fled with the newborn Jesus, seeking refuge from the
murderous King Herod. Egypt’s first Marian apparition
was reported in 1968, at a time when the nation was in tur-
moil following a war with Israel. One night, a glowing fig-
ure appeared above the domes of the Virgin Mary Coptic
Orthodox Church in Cairo’s Zeitoun district. It returned
regularly, witnesses said, until 1971.
The apparition took many forms. Sometimes the figure
appeared as a full body, other times as a bust surrounded
by a halo of light. On occasion, other bright lights appeared
in the shape of doves. Local news stations broadcast foot-
age of the seemingly supernatural event, and police who
searched the surrounding area for any sign of equipment
that could have been used to manufacture such an appari-
tion came up empty-handed.Crowds of all faiths and pro-
fessions witnessed the vision.
“Two important aspects accompanied these appari-
tions,” Pope Kyrillos IV, head of the Coptic Orthodox
Church of Alexandria, wrote in an official statement. “The
first is an incredible revival of the faith in God, the other
world, and the saints, leading to repentance and conver-
sion of many who strayed away from the faith. The second
are numerous miracles of healing which were verified by
many physicians to be miraculous in nature.” The appari-
tion is considered valid by the Coptic Orthodox Church.Pray and Repent
KIBEHO, RWANDA, 1981
With hands folded, the beautiful woman appeared before
Alphonsine Mumureke in Kibeho, Rwanda, in 1981 with a
message: There was going to be a terrible war. A student at a
Catholic boarding school, Alphonsine, 16, understood rightThe apparition took many forms.
Sometimes the figure appeared as a
full body, other times as a bust
surrounded by a halo of light.A LOST ICON
Mary appeared to a young
Russian girl in 1579 and
asked the girl to unearth
a painting, the icon of Our
Lady of Kazan, beneath a
burned nearby home. The
icon is said to be lost today.MARY AND THE SAINTS