The Catholic Defender: The reported Icon of theVirgin Mary connected with Damascus, Syria

https://deepertruthdon.podbean.com/e/the-virgin-mary-travels-to-damascus-syria/

the venerated of the Virgin of Damascus icon, historically significant in Syria and Malta, and apparitions to Myrna Nazzour in Damascus, Syria involving oil weeping from icons, which were witnessed by local church officials, though not universally canonized as a major apparition site by the global Vatican, but fostering deep devotion within Greek Orthodox and Catholic communities. 

An ancient, revered icon from Constantinople, known for miracles, that was housed in Syria and later Malta, representing shared Orthodox and Catholic devotion.

A Greek Orthodox woman in Damascus who experienced oil weeping from icons and her hands, witnessed by priests and police; this event generated significant local attention and belief

local church figures acknowledged the phenomena in Damascus, true "approval" for Marian apparitions is a complex, lengthy Vatican process (like Our Lady of Champion in the US), and the Damascus events are more recognized locally and within certain traditions as miraculous rather than officially canonized by the entire Church globally.

The focus on Damascus highlights the deep respect for Mary in Syrian Christian traditions (Syrian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox) and the interfaith veneration of icons like the "Virgin of Damascus,"

the spread of veneration for Mary in Damascus, linked to significant iconographic and miraculous events witnessed locally, rather than a single, universally "approved" church decree.

In 2026, the primary church-approved event associated with the Virgin Mary in Damascus remains the Our Lady of Soufanieh phenomena, which began in 1982.

Official declarations of recognition were made as early as December 31, 1982, by Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Syrian Catholic Church has also granted approval.

The apparitions and messages are linked to a young Syrian woman, Myrna Nazzour, whose hands also reportedly exude oil during prayer.

A central theme of the messages is a call for Church unity, specifically between the East and the West, and for the unification of the feast of Easter. 

While the original is now preserved in Malta, it remains a symbol of shared veneration between Orthodox and Catholic communities in Damascus. 

On June 22, 2025, a tragic suicide bombing occurred at Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Church

in the Dweil'a neighborhood of Damascus. The attack, which killed 25 people, was condemned by the United Nations and international religious leaders as a "heinous terrorist act".