INDEX + Introduction PA QAUNAWNH- . Inthe Mill . Miracles of Healing . Pope Kyrillos and the Virgin Mary . Predictions . Pope Kyrillos and St. Menas, the Martyr . Visionary Sensation . Miracles After the Pope’s Departure . Personal Memories Page 13 45 52 62 71 83 91The Miracles of Pope Kyrillos (Ciryl) VI Part I Published by Sons of Pope Kyrillos VI P.O.B.: (40) Shoubra Garden, Cairo - Egypt10 Another attempt by the Devil to make Fr. Mina leave this place: A new inspector of Antiquities was appointed for the area of the Mill. When he learned from the watchman that a monk lives in one of the Mills, he gave orders to evict him. But the watchman refused to carry out these orders as he considered the monk as one of God’s good men. The inspector was not pleased and said, «I’ll go myself and evict him.» Then he went to Fr. Mina and said, «The Department of Antiquities terminated your lease and you have to leave the Mill forthwith.» Fr. Mina asked for an extension till end of year but the inspector insisted on the immediate departure from the Mill. At this, Fr. Mina closed the Mill’s door, saying, «I am not leaving this place, do what you want. The Lord exists.» The inspector went home very angry and he was all the time thinking of using a police force to evict this Monk. About midnight, his wife woke up terrified. When he asked her for the reason, she told him that a man with a long beard and a great dignity on his face stood next to her bed, trying to strangle her and was saying, «I have to strangle you because your husband wants to evict me although I have done him no harm.» The husband said «This man is the solitary Monk who lives in the Mill.» Then he told her the whole story. The wife asked her husband to go to him immediately and ask for his forgiveness. In the morning, both husband and wife took many presents and went together to visit Fr. Mina. He welcomed them. The wife said, «This is the man who came to me at night». But Fr. Mina, after listening to her story, corrected her saying that it was St. Menas himself who appeared to her. WITH WILD BEASTS AT THE MILL Did This inspector fear the simple Monk who had no authority or knowledge of rules and law? The best answer would be this story, told100 almost asleep. When I woke him up, he told me that he is very tired and could not stand up. Fr. Mettias El Soriani (now Bishop Domadius of Giza) advised me to ask for the Pope’s permission so my son could take off thé sacred vestment and return home with me before I go to work. I went to His Holiness in the Sanctuary. He presented the Cross for me to kiss, for blessing, thinking that I am leaving. But I told him about my son and he said, «The sick recovers after Communion.» So I left and went to work. When I returned home in the afternoon, I found my son Albert playing as usual and in good health. I asked him what happened and he said, «His Holiness sent for me, so I was carried to his chair where I sat: Then he put the Cross on my head and prayed. I immediately felt better and after Communion, I was well as if nothing has happened. Mr. Boulus also says: We are six members in my family, four children, my wife and myself. Tused to attend Mass with Pope Kyrillos nearly every day. By the end of Mass, he used to give me El Baraka (the Blessed Bread). The amazing thing is that the number of pieces is always six, one for each member of the family, Once, it happened that His Holiness gave me five pieces on- ly. I was disappointed and thought it was a bad omen. I spent my day at work very depressed, wondering what had happened.’I hurriedly went home to find all safe and well. When I started giving each a piece of El Baraka, one of them refused because of an excuse that stopped her from receiving the Blessed Bread! + Mr. Boulus tells us another incident that happened to him: I suffered from a strange illness in my arm which no one could ‘diagnose. A doctor, Lieutenant General in the army wanted to experi- ment on my arm as it looked normal in colour, size and there was no sign of any disease showing on it. Why would I have an operation? The persistent pain made me agree for the surgery that costed me 13 Egyp-101 tian Pounds, but the suffering became worse after that. I found that the only solution was to go to His Holiness. I admit it is a human weakness that we try everything ourselves and seek God’s help last, after becom- ing desperate. It is writeen that, «At time of hardship, call Me and I will save you and you glorify My name.» I went to our Saint in his Monastery at Maryout as the pain was too much for me to wait till His Holiness was back. When he saw me, he asked me, in afatherly way, about the wife and children. Then I told him about my arm and he answered, «There was a foreigner before you here, with the same complaint and when we put the cylinder containing St. Menas relics, he recovered.» Then he asked his disciple to bring the blessed cylinder and put it on my arm. I spent the day at the Monastery then returned to Alexandria after the pain was gone completely. How? .... Immediately! Mr. Boulus continues with his memories to tell us about this miracle: I had a sister called Mokhtara, who was suffering from a serious disease we did our best searching for a remedy. We took her to Cairo for treatment by specialists, but all in vain! We went to Pope Kyrillos VI and my mother asked him to pray for her. The Pope prayed for her but did not say that God will cure her. As a matter of fact, he turned to my mother and said, «May God help you!» We understood that she is about to depart and His Holiness is asking for God’s help to put up with this trial... + This is another list of sweet memories and amazing miracles, told by Mr. Habib Abdel Messih, of Cairo: I was living in a house where we suffered from evil spirits for nine days, from 12th to 20th Aug. 1947. They broke chianwares, utensils and102 turned the furniture upside down. Fear spread all over the place and it was even published in «Al Akhbar» newspaper on the fifth page of issue number 146, of 23.8.1947, under the headline: «Ghosts in Shoubra wage a war against tenants.» I objected to this publicatiion but the reporters made their enquiries without my knowledge. It happened that I heard about Fr. Mina, the Solitary, so.I went to him on Friday, 15.8.1947 at the Church of El Malak El Kebli. It was very hot and I was exhausted due to lack of sleep for three days. Fr. Mina met me with his gentle smile. I told him my story and named the Priests who came to our house and prayed but with no change. He said to me, «You must have Kandeel (the Sacrament for anointing the sick)». So I said, «Your blessings, Father, I count on you!» But he replied, «I don’t go out of this place, but the secret is in the word. Any Priest could hold this sacrament for you. Take this bottle of Holy water. Spray it in the flat.» Then he gave me two Korban and said, «Take this Blessed Bread, keep one at home and share the other with your family members. I’ll pray and ask St. Menas to help you. He is the miracle performer, Habib!» Then he held my head and prayed for me. By the time he finished praying, I could not feel tired any more. All the tension was gone and I became physically and spiritually well. 1 returned home and sprayed the water. The situation immediately changed and everything was calm. In the afternoon, Sat. 16.8.1947, the beautiful smell of incense was all over the house. From where? We could not figure out its source. I called my neighbours and told them about what Fr. Mina, the Saint, said to me the day before. We all glorified God’s name and blessed St. Menas, the Miracle Performer. On Sunday, 17.8.1947, I attended Mass with Fr. Mina at El Malak El Kebly Church. When Mass was over, I mentioned to him how the distur- « bances at home were much less than before, and how we enjoyed the smell of incense the day before. He pointed to a youth who was sitting opposite103 uy and described him as a true Christian and so his parents, too. Fr. Mina said that St. Menas incenses this youth’s house every day. Their young servant even saw him and told her mistress that she saw a man dréssed in white, incensing the lounge room! One of my friends from Church told me that what has been happening at my houseis an evil work and it is only through another evil work that we could get rid of it. On Monday, 18.8.1947, after Mass, I told Fr. Mina what the friend said to me and begged him to give me permission to finish this problem, I will never forget his angry look and his words, «Do you want me to give you permission to do an evil deed! I’ll never do that, I’ll only pray for you. Go to your Confession Father and ask his permission. He is a good man, if he does, it is up to him but not for me. Does it mean that when tribulations take long we collapse! Go my son, I’ll pray for you.» His prayer put an end to all our troubles and by Wed. 20.8.1947, everything was back to normal. Mr. Habib also tells us part of his memories about Pope Kyrillos VI, by saying: On the first Mass that took place at St. Menas Church, Old Cairo, it happened that His Holiness (Fr. Mina at that time), after the Gospel Readings, said, «My beloved, my children, I asked Anba Yousab to pray with us to-day, but he was on a retreat in Helwan. I tried to ask Amba Ephram (the former Bishop of Giza), but he had another appointment. I did not want to delay the prayers, but I would like to tell you that when they lifted up this marble pillar, the Church was full of incense. And when they were building the Dome of the Sanctuary, there was a lamp of light. Those who told me had no reason to lie, May God’s wonders show in His Saints.... Let us pray...» These words were stronger than any other words I ever heard in my life. It deeply touched my feelings.104 Mr. Habib also adds that this Church is truly a «Port of Peace». Every time his son was sick, he used to carry him to this Holy Saint who would pray for him and the son would recover immediately. Visiting Fr. Mina was the only solution to any problem he faced, either at work or at home. Mr. Habib continues saying: Even the house we live in now, I rented with no difficulty and without paying any money in advance. This Saint’s blessings made things easy for us. The first day we spent in the house, the lounge room was filled with the Sweet smell of incense. + Mr. Habib also says that once, he returned from work with a very high temperature. On Friday morning, his son Abdel Messih wanted to attend Mass with Fr. Mina. His father said to him, «I would not be ableto go with you, son!» The boy replied, «I’ll go by myself.» He was about ten years old at that time and they worried about the dangers of transport from Shoubra to Old Cairo. Besides, he never went there alone before. But the boy insisted, so the father let him go and prayed that God may keep him safe. When the boy returned, the father’s temperature was still high but the son told him what happened at Church. While he was receiving the Holy Communion, the Saint asked him: «Where is your father. Abdu?» So the boy answered that his father was ill. After Mass, he gave him one of the Blessed Bread (El Baraka), prayed on it and asked the boy to give it to his father. The temperature fell and became normal by the afternoon. Mr. Habib was all right and went to work on Saturday, as usual. + Mr. Habib continues saying that during the Easter Fasting, he went to the Mass held by Fr. Mina at St. Mena Church, Old Cairo. There, he found people gathering around a youth who was lying on the ground and four men holding him. The Saint was pointing the Cross to the youth, saying, «Leave him!» Every time the youth tried to get up, he was put down by the four men, and Fr. Mina kept on repeating, «Leave him!» The105 young man answered, «I’ll leave through his eye!» But the Saint firmly said. «Leave through his toe, otherwise, St. Menas will burn you!» The youth go mad but the Saint rebuked him. After some time, the evil spirit left the youth through his toe. + Mr. Habib also tells about the time when there was a disagreement between Pope Kyrillos VI and a certain person. He wrote saying: I went once to visit one of my relatives and there I met another visitor, Dr. Sobhy Gabrael and his wife. They surprised me by attacking the Pope and criticising his actions with this person, who was part of the disagree- ment. They were, in fact, listing this man’s virtues and favours. I was not aware of the details of the dispute, so I simply said to them, «I really love Pope Kyrillos VI and I will never go and discuss such things with His Holiness! I only go to receive his blessings and I know noe about the matter.» After some time, Dr. Sobhy got in touch with me and said: — Guess what happened this morning? — Hopefully nothing bad. — You would not believe what happened with the Pope! — What do you mean? I was at the Papal Palace this morning to finish my papers before migrating to Australia, so I went to greet His Holiness. You know how he never met me before, and he does not know me at all. But he surprised me by saying, «I hope, Dr. Sobhy, that you are pleased with us!!» Dr. Sobhy said that the Pope’s few words were more effective and convincing than long articles. + Mr. Habib also describes what happened when it was announced that Fr. Mina, the Solitary was chosen by God to be the Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. His son was at that time praying at St. Menas Church, Old Cairo. At ten o’clock exactly, which was the time of drawing lots, Fr106 Mina knelt with tears in his eyes. The happy news reached the Church soon after and Mr. Habib went immediately to his beloved Father, with syrup and soft drinks to celebrate. He offered a cup to the Pope. He drank just a sip and Mr. habib had the blessings of drinking the rest. + Mr. Tawfik Sarafim, from Shoubra, Cairo, wrote the following: I had a farming land in Bani Mahmadeiat, Abnoub, and the tenant refused to pay any rent for several years. So I had to sue him at court and I made a Power of Authority to a lawyer to follow up the case. On the day of hearing at court, I was serving as a Deacon with His Holiness, Pope Kyrillos VI. I begged him to pray for me, after I told him the story. His comment was, «Why did you neglect it all these years?» Mass was over by 8 o’clock that morning. At Abnoub, what happened is exactly the following: The litigant (opponent) failed to attend as well as my attorney, who on- ly submitted a lawyer’s brief. The court gave the sentence in my favour, two hours exactly after the Pope’s prayers. + Mr. Saiid Megally Abdel Malek, Chief Accountant, wrote saying: In 1968, there was a new accounting system which was not very clear. It needed hard work and effort in order to apply it satisfactorily. Sometimes, I had to work at home till 2 o’clock in the morning. On 28th Aug. 1968, I went to St. Mark’s Cathedral, Cairo, very late, nearly at the © end of Mass. I was carrying folders and files to do more work at home. Before I reached the inside door of the Church. I saw a crowd. So I guessed that the Pope was giving «El Baraka», the Blessed Bread to the congregation. I stood in line waiting for my turn. When the Pope saw me, he asked me personally to come closer, although I was nearly at the end of the queue. I went to His Holiness who asked me, «Why do you stay late at work?» I answered, «It is only... Your Holiness...» But without letting107 me finish what I was about to say, he continued, «Come here, I know.... lower your head!» So I put my head on his knees and he put the Cross on my head. He took the folders and put them on a chair next to him and kept on praying and pulling my hair. He also put the Cross inside the folders and prayed then said to me, «Take them, my son (referring to the folders), may God help and guide you, and make things easy for you. Count on the Blessings of Christ.» 1 immediately felt that the heavy burden of the tiring hours I spent for the last few months had been taken away. I was greatly comforted and was full of inner joy. I left the Church and all the way to my work, I could clearly hear a voice saying, «Why confuse yourself in this empty circle. You can simply do....» And the voice explained to me the best system to follow. I arrived at my office, I locked myself ina room and started applying what I heard. Within three hours, I almost covered the year’s work in a most idealistic way. I showed the result to my superiors at work and they were impressed and pleased with me. I still follow the same system to date. ENON te teeeeees of Cairo, wrote saying: His Holiness, Pope Kyrillos VI asked me once to go to one of the Churches for the Vesper’s raising of incense, after complaints that its Priests neglect this traditional Church service. So I went and found nobody there. I was very annoyed, as I live far away from this Chruch. Deep inside, I was wondering why would the Pope send me to «the end of the world» to serve in an empty Church! 2 Later on, when I met His Holiness, and despite what happened, he said to me: «Do not be upset. Just go once more for the Vespers servcie», and he specified the day. So I went tothe Church and, again, it wasempty! But when I was leaving the Sanctuary for the incense round, I saw what made me full of amazement. The Church was full of The Spirit Borne «Suwah». Adding to this, Pope Kyrillos himself was among them!108 The next day, | met the Pope and when he asked me. --; «How wasit, Fr. «+++, Was it still empty?» I could not answer or utter a word! AllI did was to kneel in front of him and kiss his pure hand. + The same Priest continues to tell us how after this incident, he repeatedly asked His Holiness to visit him at his home. The Priest describes what happened: He used to look at me and smile. One evening, my daughter was in the lounge room when she noticed that the face of Pope Kyrillos VI was showing over the picture of St. George that was hanging on the wall. She called us and we all saw it and glorified God’s name. I went to meet His Holiness the day after, and repeated my request for him to visit us. His answer was, «You are really greedy... am I going to visit you every day?!» + It happened by chance that a Person saw Fr. Mina (Pope Kyrillos VI) while praying in his Cell at St. Menas Monastery, Old Cairo. This person said that there was another figure dressed in white, standing by the Pope’s side. + Fr. Soliman Serour, Priest of Virgin Mary’s Church in El Monoufia, says: When our Bishop was being ordained (His Grace Anba Dioscorus), I was visiting the late Pope on the Saturday before the ordainment. His Holiness, the Pope said to me, «You are from El Monoufia! Stay and at- tend the ordination tomorrow.» After I left, I thought of what the Pope said. But I couldn’t neglect the service at my Church and I thought «God must be obeyed before people.» So I decided to return to my town, but what happened was quite astonishing: Firstly: I was very late, for no obvious reason, and could not hold the Vespors Prayers.109 Secondly: After midnight, I suffered from acute stomach ache and became sick, so I was forced to break my fast and could not hold the Sunday Mass! I did not attend the ordination as well!! Thirdly : I was feeling weary till I went to the Pope, told him all'that happened and asked for his forgiveness. His Holiness said to me, «I know there was nobody else except you at the Church, but I could see that your stay here was more important!» + Mr. Labib Fahmy who works at Shebeen El Koum, and lives in Zef- ta, wrote the following: My wife was unjustly transferred from her school to El Zakazik, which made her suffer from travelling every day. We tried to cancel this order, so we went to Cairo. Before going to the Ministry of Education to appeal, we first thought of visiting Pope Kyrillos VI. We could not see him onthat day as it was the ordination of two Bishops. At the Ministry, we could not achieve anything and there was no sign of hope at all! We returned to the Papal Palace and sat in the reception room upstairs. One of the Fathers told us that His Holiness was having a rest as he spent the night praying. This was followed by the ordination of the Bishops, which finished about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. It was only twenty minutes past two, and nobody would disturb His Holiness after such a short time. We did not insist on seeing His Holiness after what we heard. We were offered a drink, celebrating the Bishops ordination and we were getting ready to leave. We did not take more than one step towards the door when the side door of the reception room was opened and His Holiness stood there with his dignified appearance. He turned to us and said, «I came especially for you so you would not be upset!» So I asked him, «Did anyone tell Your Holiness that we are upset?» He answered, «Yes, the Honest and Loyal told me!» I could not understand what he meant, till he11 by Professor Iris Habib El Masry. One of her relatives, Georgy Ibrahim, told her that one morning, he went to visit Fr. Mina, the Solitary at the Mill. When Fr. Mina opened the door, a wolf went out, which terrified the visitor. But Fr. Mina calmed him down, saying that it would not harm him. The late Georgy asked about the story of this wolf and Fr. Mina explained that the animal usually comes at night and sleeps at the Mill with him then leaves in the morning. + Another more amazing story is told by the wife of Fr. Antonios Farag. One of her friends used to visit Fr. Mina at the Mill and she used, sometimes, to see a lion by his side. Naturally she was very scared, but Fr. Mina used to tell her that the lion does not harm anyone; it is just like a faithful dog. Whenever Fr. Mina ordered the lion to stay away, it would obey, sit a far and remain without moving. t+ + + t+ t+ + + + i + Mr. Gad Ghaly Abdel Messih describes what happened to a relative, the late Abdel Malek Shenouda: , brother of Fr. Yohanna, Priest of the Hanging Church, Old Cairo. More than one person asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage and the late Abdel Malek was confused which one would be the right person for his daughter. They were very similar socially and financially, so he went to the Mill and asked for an advice from Fr. Mina, the Solitary. The first thing Fr. Mina said was, «You never trust what we say, my son». But the parent answered, «If I did not have trust in you, I would not have seeked your advice.» Then Fr. Mina quietly said, «The one who will marry her and with whom she will be happy is Noor.» Mr. Gad Ghaly comments here that his relative never mentioned names of those who proposed to his daughter. And Fr. Mina suggested choosing by drawing a lot on one condition, that they accept the result110 said to my wife, «You are going to return to your school again and God will spoil the plan of those who caused your transfer. Go in peace, the peace of the Lord be with you!» We were surprised to hear these words as we did not mention anything about this transfer. We realized that it was the Holy Spirit that let him know. We left full of joy, after a miserable day. Few days after, a letter was received from the Ministry of Education cancelling the transfer and my wife returned to her original school. What could I say? It seemed as if His Holiness was reading everything from an open book. + Asa conclusion to this interesting list of miracles, Mr. Labib Fahmy tells us this story: Few years ago, a dangerous criminal appeared in Alexandria; he was known as Mahmoud El Saffah» which means «blood shedder»! This criminal escaped from Alexandria to Cairo and, for some time, took the area of Giza for his hiding. At that time, I was living at 55, El Giza St. One night, I had to stay late to finish some work, till about 2 o’clock in the morning. I prayed then went to bed very tired. I was deeply asleep in minutes but after a short time, I woke up with the sound of the door bell ringing continuously. I looked at my watch and it was 3 o’clock in the morning. I moved to get up, still half asleep, to open the door. Suddenly, I saw His Holiness, Pope Kyrillos VI, with both arms raised up to stop me. I even heard him with my own ears, saying in a very calm, fatherly voice, «My son, do not open the door... It is Mahmoud El Saffah! May God protect you from him.» He stopped for a second, then added, «Stay in bed!» Then he bent over me, with this sympathetic look in his eyes, and with his right hand put my head back on the pillow. He kept on patting my shoulder and back with both his pure hands, till I fall asleep. I could smell ~ incense coming out of his sacred vestments. His last words were, «Have a good night, my son.»aisle After some time, I woke up disturbed. It was about 3.30 in the morning and the door bell was again ringing. I was wondering who would come to me at that time and after I was relieved that the criminal has gone. I was about to get up when His Holiness appeared as before and did exactly the same thing. He said in a louder voice this time, «Don’t open the door... May God protect you from his evil deeds, son!» He pushed me kindly on bed till I faced the side of the wall. I woke up in the morning to find myself still facing the wall, which I never did before, as I hate sleeping with my face to the wall. I also could smell incense in the room. The most amazing thing is what I heard later from the porter, the grocer and others, that Mahmoud El Saffah was last night in our building. He was trying to hide there but it seemed that nobody let him in. I realized then that because my flat was op the ground floor of this building, he was trying to come into my place as it would be easier for him to get away later on. In the afternoon, I went to St. Mark’s Cathedral where I met Bishop Thaophilis, head of the Syrian Monastery. I told him all that happened last night and asked him, «How would a human being be in two places at the same time? Last night, His Holiness, the Pope, was in my flat and at the Papal Palace, too!» His answer was, «It is greater and deeper to be explained. All I could tell you is that the prayers of His Holiness saved your life and his blessings protected you and patronise all the faithful. His Holiness is an angel sent to us from our God of Glory. May the blessings of our beloved Saint, Pope Kyrillos VI, be with us all. Amen.12 without argument, otherwise there will be trouble. Next morning, they put all the names on the Altar, and these names were only known to the girl’s father. After Mass, one paper was chosen and the name on it was Zaki Noor, The parent was amazed how God showed Fr. Mina the result before the choice took place. + Another story is told by the same person about Architect Sobhy, son of the late Abdel Malek Shenouda. One week before his wedding, the son became very sick. After consultation with three doctors, they reached the conclusion that he has a tumour in the liver and his condi- tion is critical. This was before antibiotics were invented. The father was very depressed and went to Fr. Mina, the Solitary, at the Mill. He told him everything and how they have only three or four days before the wedding and the son is still very ill. He wanted Fr. Mina to pray for the sick son. Fr. Mina asked the parent, «Do you believe in the power of prayer?» The parent answered, «Yes, Father, I believe. That is why I came to you.» Fr. Mina simply said, «Go home, your son has been cured.» When the father returned home, he found his son out of bed and in good health. When the son was re-examined by the same doctors who said that his condition was critical, they were amazed and asked for an explanation. When they heard what happened, they were very puzzled, and the wedding took place as planned.13 Chapter Two MIRACLES OF HEALING + WHO IS THIS MONK WITH THE HEAD VEIL? Counsellor F.A. tells this story: After the Altar Ballot was announced selecting Fr. Mina El Baramousy, the Solitary, to become Pope of Alexandria, as Kyrillos VI, his picture was published in the newspapers. When the Counsellor’s wife saw it, her comment was, «Who is this Monk with the head veil? What would he be able to do?» Few days passed since this simple Monk wis chosen to be Patriarch of the See of St. Mark and the son of this Counsellor had a tumour as a result of an injection that was given by mistake, His mother was the one who gave it to him. The doctor decided on having an operation, which depressed the mother very much. She asked her husband to take them to visit the Pope and ask for his blessings. There, she confessed what she said when she saw his picture. Still the Pope prayed for her, blessed her and gave her a piece of cotton with oil to bless the sick boy. That night, the mother did as she was told and in the morning, there was no sign of the tumour. What added to their amazement is the fact that the boy was also cured from the original disease that he was treated for. + JUST TOUCH HIS ROBE: Architect Mishreky Abdel Messih tells this incident when he had a fysi on the back of his hand. He was supposed to remove it by having an14 operation. So he went to Pope Kyrillos VI asking for his prayers to heal him, and that was a short time after becoming Pope. There he found a crowd around the Pope, so he decided to touch the Pope’s shawl with his infected hand. He managed to do that and went home. There he realised that the cyst is getting smaller, till it vanished without any trace left. + THE PIECE OF STRING THAT HEALED: Sophy, the wife of Mr. Naguib Rizk Allah Guirguis, tells what hap- pened to her relative Isabelle Sawiris. Isabelle was once sitting on the beach and when she tried to stand up, she could not. They took her by car to a doctor who said that she was suffering from a slipped disc and she needed an operation. After the operation, she still could not walk, so she was sent overseas for further treatment, but there was no im- provement. After all the money she spent, she had to wear an iron belt around her waist and legs. That continued for seven years. Sophy, with some relatives, was visiting this sick lady who heard from them that they were going to visit Pope Kyrillos VI. She wept and asked them to tell the Pope about her sickness and ask him to pray for her. When they told the Pope her story, he gave them a piece of cotten wet with oil and a piece of string. His Holiness prayed on both objects. The sick lady was anointed with the oil and tied the string around her waist, according to the Pope’s instructions, then went to sleep. In the morning, Isabelle woke up calling her relatives to untie the iron belts that hurt her and limit her movement. When they untied her, she started walking in the room. When the Pope departed, Isabelle wept all through the funeral prayers and was telling everyone how she spent seven years in bed, tied with iron belts, till the Pope healed her with a piece of cotton with oil and a piece of string. The miracle happened through the prayers and blessings of Pope Kyrillos VI.15 + This incident is told by Mr. Magdy Tawfik, Rod El Farag, Cairo. His sister was suffering from a slipped disc, which distressed the whole family. She was a mother of four children who needed her care. This sister tried several well known doctors but all failed to cure her. There was not even a sign of improvement. All they advised her to do ‘was to wear heavy iron belts which made any movement hard and pain- ful. She used to shed many tears, while lying in bed praying. Mr. Magdy continues his story, saying: We finally heard about a Monk called Fr. Mina, the Solitary (Pope Kyrillos VI), who serves at St. Menas Church, Old Cairo. We also heard about the piety of this Monk from many people, so we went to him on a Friday and attended the Ho- ly Mass. When Mass was over, Father Mina prayed for my sister, anointed her with oil then’ blessed us all before we were dismissed. Thank God, my sister felt as if a heavy weight was removed off her back, She took off all the iron belts and started moving freely, Her il- Iness disappeared through the blessings of this Solitary Monk who was later on chosen by God to be the Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, with the name Kyrillos VI. + GO NOW, HE HAS BEEN HEALED: Mr. Magdy also tells us this story that happened to his brother Habib. This brother used to have fits and fall on the ground anytime without previous warning, either at home or in the street. We all feared what could happen if he was attacked by one of these fits on his way to or from work, as he has to ride the Helwan Metro every day. We thought that no medicine would cure this illness, except electric treatment, which we were hesitant to use. One day, my mother remembered God’s mercy when my sister was cured through the prayers and blessings of Fr. Mina, who was now16 Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. She immediately went to the Papal Palace and said to His Holiness, The Pope, «I would like an appoint- ment to bring my son Habib, who needs your prayers to recover.» The Pope answered, «No need to bring him, he has healed now.» And as if these words were recorded in Heaven, the sick son was healed and the illness never came back. + HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECOVER FROM POLIO: Mrs. Wadiah from St. George Church, Sporting, Alexandria, tells how her daughter was suffering from Polio and the doctors decided to operate on her legs. But the mother carried her daughter and went in tears to Pope Kyrillos VI. The Pope was deeply touched and put the child on his knees. He prayed and anointed her legs with oil then blessed both mother and child before he dismissed them. Since then the child started to walk and was in good health. She has grown up now and there is no trace left of the disease. + This miraculous healing happened to others, not just to this girl, as Fr. Marcos Yostos from Sohag tells us this story: During the period when he was the Priest of Virgin Mary’s Church in Suez, his daughter Erini was suffering from Polio and one of her legs was limp. It happened that His Holiness Pope Kyrillos VI was visiting Anba Antonios Church in Suez. The wife of Fr. Marcos carried her sick daughter to Fr. Matta, who took the child to the Pope. The Popoe im- mediately knew her sickness and said, «She has Polio!» Then he blessed her thrice with the Cross, prayed for her then gave her the Holy Com- munion. When she went home, there was nothing wrong with her at all. + IS THERE A CURE FOR IRREGULAR BLOOD CIRCULATION! This miracle is also told by Fr. Marcos who, for few years, sufferedWid from irregular blood circulation, which affected the heart and caused pain in his left side. He went to Pope Kyrillos VI at St. Mark’s Church, Alexandria and asked His Holiness to pray where he had the pain. By the time the Pope finished, the pain was gone and the priest went home in good health. Fr. Marcos adds saying, «How many times I went early to pray with His Holiness, and left full of peace and joy. Besides, I used to pray with His Holiness at St. Menas Church, Old Cairo, before he was chosen Patriarch and before I was ordained a priest. It was a feeling, as if I was in Heaven. + HEALING BECAME IMPOSSIBLE Mr. Ramzy Benyamin Sawiris from Gerga tells us this story about his father who was living in Sedfa. The father was in great pain from a rup- ture and doctors decided that operating on him is imporssible as he was about 68 years old at that time. The father went once to Cairo and when he returned, he seemed to be in no pain. Mr. Ramzy was surprised and asked him. «Have you had an operation?» The father smiled and said, «His Holiness, Pope Kyrillos VI, operated on me.» Then he explained what happened starting from the time when he went to the Cathedral in the morning. After Mass, he approached the Pope asking for his blessings. But before he uttered a word, the Pope said to him, «Come Benyamin and receive the blessing». The father was puzzled to hear the Pope calling him by his name. He does not even know him! How did he know he is there seeking bless- ings? Then the Pope asked him to put his hands together. When the Pope finished his prayers, he said, «Open your hands... you will receive according to your faith.» Mr. Ramzy continues the story, saying: «My father returned to my brother’s home in Gezeret Badran, Shoubra and he felt no pain at all. He is still in good health and the ill- ness never came back. According to his wish, I drew two large oil pain-18 tings of Pope Kyrillos VI, I kept one at my place and the other at my father’s, in memory of His Holiness.» + IS THERE A CURE FOR HEART DISEASE? Mrs. Augeny Eskander of Alexandria says: «My son Morad had rheumatic fever in his childhood. It was advised by Dr. Victor Amin to keep the child in bed without any movement. He stayed in bed for 6 months and it was a pitiful sight for whoever saw him. Even when the dangerous stage was over, the disease left its effect on the child and any effort could be fatal. After a year, the disease returned and we were advised to take him to England for a better treatment. Teachers at school were asked to keep an eye on him, as he was not permitted to exhaust himself or even cry. When the child was in the Preparatory School, he used to be carried to his class on the third floor. The principal asked for a doctor’s cer- tificate, so they can keep the child on the first floor. We decided to go to a specialist to get the certificate and, in the meantime, to have a check-up. ‘But we went first to Pope Kyrillos VI and told him about the child’s disease and he prayed for him. We went to the doctor, who examined him thoroughly. Later on, he turned to us saying, «If I was not the one who looked after his medical treatment, I would not have believed that he ever had any trouble with the heart.» + THIS IS NOT A TREATMENT FOR DIABETES: Mr. Karam Guirguis of Mansourah tells how he was suffering from diabetes. He was treated by Dr. Adel Na-oom, who put him on a very strict diet. Mr. Karam continues saying: «I lost much weight and became very weak. I was even unable to walk normally and begged my doctor to change this diet, but he insisted it19 would be risky and might lead to fatal results. During this hard period, | went to visit the Pope but did not mention anything about my disease. ‘The Pope gave me a piece of the Blessed Bread (El Baraka) and kept me with him in the lounge for over.an hour, till everybody else left. When His Holiness stood up to go upstairs, I excused myself to go home but the Pope asked me to accompany him upstairs. When we reached the lounge room on the upper floor, he saw on a tray more of the Blessed Bread that is usually given to people before they are dismissed from Church. So he turned to me saying, «You want, of course, a fresh one!» I took it and left. I started eating it while I was still in the courtyard of the Papal Palace. I ate more than what was allowable. After a month, I went to have blood and urine tests and the result was amazing. The amount of sugar was less than the usual and shortly after, I was completely cured, thank God.» + DEATH AFTER BIRTH Mrs. Shoukry Naguib from Heliopolis tells this miracle which hap- pened to her personnaly. Since her marriage in 1938, all her babies died immediately after birth. That happened for ten years till she nearly gave up, had it not been for her faith in God’s mercy. Some relatives suggested a visit to Fr. Mina, the Solitary, in Old Cairo so he can pray for her while she is still in the last months of her pregnancy. She listened to their advice and went to Fr. Mina and told him her sad story. After a very quiet prayer, he said to her, «May God grant you your request... You will have a son and you will call him Mina.» By the end of November 1948, as Fr. Mina (Pope Kyrillos VI) said, she had twins whom she named Mina and Naguib. Her husband went to Fr. Mina to tell him about God’s wonderful deed. Fr. Mina upon hearing this, went to the Sanctuary, knelt and prayed for a long time. Later on, the lady had a baby girl.20 Mrs. Shoukry still takes her children and goes to St. Menas Church in Old Cairo. + FAILURE OF MEDICAL PROFESSORS FOR TEN YEARS: Mr. Mahrous Zaki Sheta, El Kobba Gardens, wrote this letter in which he says: «I married my cousin in November 1958 and we did not have children. We went to several famous doctors who tried everything operations, injections, etc. This continued till June 1965. In November 1965, we went back to one of the professors who recommended repeating an operation that has been done to my wife before. About a month after the operation, pregnancy was expected within three mon- ths. When nothing happened, more tests were done. The result showed that the tubes leading to the womb do not press the egg-cells that cause pregnancy. We were asked to buy certain injections from overseas. Although they were expensive, about L.E. 30 each, we were willing to buy them. But the doctor asked us to wait till the patient's general health improves, as these injections have side effects. In May 1967, I went to visit Pope Kyrillos VI without my wife. I told him our story then knelt by his side, with my head bowed. He put the Cross on my head and prayed. While he was praying, he was pressing 80 hard on my head that I was about to ask him to stop, but I could not ut- ter a word, When His Holiness finished praying, he asked me to stand up saying, «You will have Amen.» But I said, «No, Mina your Holiness.» But he repeated, «No, son, it is Amen, say Amen... say Amen.» So I repeated, «Amen!» By June 28, 1967, our hopes were rising high and on July 15, 1967, we went to a Medical professor in Cairo University to have tests done as my wife thought she might be pregnant.21 The results proved that she was really pregnant. Two days before the due date of birth, we went to His Holiness, asking for his blessings. He said to my wife, «You wil be safe, my daughter.» We did not think of these words till later, when we realised that it was a complicated birth. The child was born by a Caeserian and we named him Amen, but he died three hours after the birth. The reaction on my wife was terrible. Her kidneys stopped working for twelve hours and her condition became critical, which added to her deteriorating psychological state. After this shock, I remembered the Pope’s words. That was in March 1968. In August 1968, we visited the Pope and told him-what happened. His Holiness prayed for my wife and congratulated her for passing the crisis safely, then he said, «You’ll have another Amen then a third as well.» Time passed by and we had George on 24th January, 1970, then Marianna on 7th March, 1972. ‘ + HOW CANCER IS CURED: Mr. Mohammed Abd El Hamid Mohammed, from Atrib wrote this story. He accompanied Mr. El Sayed to the surgery of Dr. Aziz Pham, Urinary Tracts Specialist in Cairo. The doctor suspected cancer in the bladder, It happened that Pope Kyrillos VI was at the doctor’ surgery. We asked him to pray for my friend and he answered our request. Mr. E. Sayed who used to suffer from discharging any urine, already felt better after the Pope’s prayers. When he was re-examined by the doctor, there was no trace of the disease. Later he visited the Pope and thanked him for what he has done to him. + DID HE REALLY REFUSE TO VISIT HER? Mrs. Margaret went to Fr. Mina, the Solitary, asking him to visit them and pray for her sick child. Fr. Mina aplogised, but said to her, «Do not worry, God will cure your child».22 At midnight, the mother saw a vision as if Fr. Mina came to visit her and asked about the sick child. When she showed him the child, he prayed for him then left. Mrs. Margaret woke up after that to find that her son’s temperature was back to normal and he was already recover- ing. What puzzled her more was the sweet smell of incense that filled the room! + ASKING FOR THE POPE’S INTERCESSION: Mrs. Gimiana Hanna Guirguis was suffering from a dangerous disease in her eyes and has been treated by several doctors. During one of the Masses held by Pope Kyrillos VI, she said, «Through your prayers, Pope Kyrillos ..., may God heal my eyes through your prayers». Mrs. Gimiana says that she immediately felt as if something was holding her head and heat going through her. She wept bitterly and when Mass was over, she felt much better. She went after that to the doctor who examined her and said, «it is a miracle... thank God the danger has gone.» . + THE UNKNOWN FEVER: Mr. Abd El Malek Bishara of Damanhour tells this incident about his son George. It was April 1961 when his son was suffering from an unknown fever. The child was four years old and had to stay for a month in the American Hospital, Tanta, but his condition did not im- prove. When his health was getting worse, he was sent to the Coptic Hospital in Alexandria where he stayed about 25 days. His temperature used to range from 38.5 C to 39 C. The doctors were getting desperate and the only hope left was to ask for the help of Pope Kyrillos VI. Mr. Greis Awadallah of Alexandria, the uncle of the sick child’s father, volunteered to do this favour. He went to the Pope and asked him to save the child’s life by praying for him. The beloved Pope gave him a