Our Lady of Soufanieh
Encyclopedia
Our Lady of Soufanieh refers to Marian apparitions reported to have occurred in Soufanieh, a suburb of Damascus
in Syria
.
Reporter Brigid Keenan wrote that the oil ostensibly produced by Nazzour has been analyzed as 100 per cent olive oil, and that hundreds of people including some doctors and psychiatrists have witnessed Nazzour's secretions and failed to find evidence of trickery. According to her reports, Nazzour developed stigmata
wounds in the forehead, hands, feet and side, and the Virgin appeared to her on the roof terrace of her house. Nazzour said the Virgin told her that "Christians should pray for peace, love one another and pray for the unity of the Christian churches."
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
.
History
The apparitions reportedly occurred on December of 1982, and January, February and March 1983. A miraculous flow of oil from an image of the Virgin Mary, as well as oozing of oil from the face and hands of Myrna Nazzour is said to have accompanied the apparitions.Reporter Brigid Keenan wrote that the oil ostensibly produced by Nazzour has been analyzed as 100 per cent olive oil, and that hundreds of people including some doctors and psychiatrists have witnessed Nazzour's secretions and failed to find evidence of trickery. According to her reports, Nazzour developed stigmata
Stigmata
Stigmata are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus, such as the hands and feet...
wounds in the forehead, hands, feet and side, and the Virgin appeared to her on the roof terrace of her house. Nazzour said the Virgin told her that "Christians should pray for peace, love one another and pray for the unity of the Christian churches."
Further reading
- Zahlaoui, Élias: Soufanieh. - in Sbalchiero, Patrick (ed.)(2002): Dictionnaire des miracles et de l'extraordinaire chrétien. - Paris: Fayard, p. 738-741.
- Sbalchiero, Patrick: Damas/ Soufanieh. - in Laurentin, René/ Sbalchiero, Patrick (ed.)(2007): Dictionnaire des "apparitions" de la Vierge Marie. - Paris: Fayard, p. 1093-1097.
- Touw, Johannes M.: Öl-Materialisationen und Stigmen in Soufanieh (Damaskus). - in: Resch, Andreas (1997): Paranormologie und Religion. - Innsbruck: Resch, p. 251-321.
- Robert J. Fox (2002): Light from the East – Miracles of Our Lady of Soufanieh.