Matharaea
Place of exile of the Holy family in Egypt.
Inhabitants or Natives[edit | edit source]
The Holy Family: the Virgin Mary, Joseph, Jesus.
Description[edit | edit source]
"I see a small house with a single floor, a ground floor, completely white. A poor house of very poorpeople. The walls are just plastered and whitewashed. There are two doors, one near the other, leading into the only two rooms of the house which, for the time being, I do not enter. The little house is in the middle of a small piece of sandy ground, enclosed by a fence of canes fixed into the ground, a very weak protection against thieves [...]"[1]
"We had some plants in our poor kitchen garden. In dog days it was a great joy to dip the melons into the well of our neighbour, as it was deep and cool, and eat them in the evening… I remember… I had a little greedy goat and we had to watch her because she was fond of tender plants and fruits…» Jesus, Who was speaking with His head somewhat lowered, raises it and looks at the palm-trees rustling in the breeze of the evening that is falling and says: «When I see those palm-trees… Every time I see palm-trees I see Egypt again, its yellow sandy soil blown so easily by the wind, and far away the pyramids trembled in the rarefied air… and the tall trunks of the palm-trees… and the house where… But it is no use speaking of them."[2]
Highlights[edit | edit source]
Place of stay of the Holy Family during their exile in Egypt.[3]
Its name[edit | edit source]
Matarîyèh "Fresh waters" 10 km from Cairo. Today El Mataria, in the northeastern suburbs, near the current airport.
Where is it mentioned in the work?[edit | edit source]
GRM 36 GRM 36
GRM 119 GRM 133
GRM 247
GRM 586
Learn more about this place[edit | edit source]
This village is located a few hundred meters from Heliopolis (Bet Shemesh in Jeremiah 43:13), an important Jewish colony at the time. Anne-Catherine Emmerich speaks of it. The tradition venerates this place and, from the 2nd century, there was a pilgrimage to the "Fountain of the Virgin".
Apparitions on the road to Matharaea[edit | edit source]
Official declaration of Cyril VI, the Coptic Orthodox Pope, on May 5, 1968:"The Patriarchal See declares with complete faith, great joy and humble gratitude to the Almighty, that the Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared several times in clear and steady forms, during several nights and during varied periods lasting up to more than two hours, from April 2, 1968 until now, above the Coptic Church of Zeitoun, in Cairo, on the road to Matarieh, where the Holy Family stayed during their time in Egypt, as tradition reports. We hope that this blessing will be a sign of peace for the world and a harbinger of prosperity for our beloved and blessed country".[4]
Explore[edit | edit source]
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Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ GRM 36.1.
- ↑ GRM 586.5.
- ↑ GRM 36.
- ↑ According to the Dictionary of apparitions of the Virgin - Abbé René Laurentin, Fayard 2007, reported by www.mariedeNazareth.org.