Miracle of Mary's House in Ephesus, spared from the flames

26 August, 2006
TURKEY


Miracle of Mary's House in Ephesus, spared from the flames

An enormous fire destroyed 1,200 hectares of forest, but the flames stopped
one metre short of the shrine. Here is the account of a monk who witnessed
what people did not hesitate to describe as a "miracle".


Ankara (AsiaNews) - People are saying it is a miracle while religious admit
the incident was indeed "extraordinary". A devastating summer fire in Turkey
wiped out 1,200 hectares of forest and came to a halt barely a metre away
from the House of Mary, near Selcuk, a shrine that is the destination of
pilgrims from all over the world, Christians and Muslims. The house of
Meryem Ana is also likely to be a stage in the journey of Pope Benedict XVI
to this country at the end of November. This led some of the media to think,
at first, that the fire was caused by arson, while others suspected an
attack by the PKK of the Kurds. Speculations were put to rest when it was
found that the fire was probably caused by people who were picnicking in the
forest: the heat, dryness and wind contributed to the fire, as happened in
other coastal areas.
On Sunday 20 August, as a result of the torrid heat sweeping across Turkey
and the strong dry wind, 23 enormous forest fires were reported at the same
time along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. They struck the most crowded
tourist areas like Bodrum and Antalya and 1,200 hectares of forest were
burnt. Even Izmir zone was not spared and the "House of Our Lady" risked
going up in flames. Fully immersed in greenery, it was reached by the fire
that spread from the bottom of the hill, furiously burning everything that
came in its way.
But the flames, as if by magic, stopped barely a metre away from the simple
brick house. The building consists of two sections identified as the living
room and bedroom of the Virgin, who is said to have ended her earthly life
here. Currently the place is a shrine, the destination of both Christian and
Muslim pilgrims who come from all around the world. Everyone immediately
claimed this was a miracle and the news was reported in capital letters in
the headlines of the main national papers.
The extraordinary nature of the event was confirmed by an Italian Capuchin,
Fr Adriano Franchini, resident of Meryem Ana Evi (Mary's house) and superior
of the Custody of Turkey. "Yes, we had a rough time," he said. "After
receiving the notice to evacuate, I concerned myself with bringing the car
to a place of safety to be able to escape. I found for our guests and then I
wanted to return home to get some things but there was no chance to do so,
we could no longer approach: we saw the smoke and the high flames coming
closer. We feared the wind may change direction and we would be trapped; the
speed with which the flames spread and advances among the pine trees was
incredible."
He continued: "We had to escape quickly amid tears and desperate searching
for relatives, but everyone was able to reach safety. When we came together
down in Selcuk (a town at the foot of the hill), the first news that reached
us from the helicopters, when they finally arrived, were really bad:
everything is burning, nothing will be saved! Then there was a ray of
optimism... at last, towards the evening, there was the realization that the
fire had been truly devastating, spreading across a large area and all
around Meryem Ana and our homes, but the shrine and homes had remained
intact!"
The Franciscan did not say it was a miracle, but he admitted that what had
happened was extraordinary. "Even around our houses, the fire reached the
outer wall on three sides, and a burnt tree fell on the roof but the flames
did not take hold in the residence; even a palm tree one metre from the
house was burnt to cinders! The fire around the shrine came as far as the
benches outside, where mass is celebrated in the open, and stopped there.
People who saw the devastation all around say it is a miracle. Certainly it
is a scenario with incredible features."
None of the many pilgrims present were injured and the incident did nothing
to stop the flux of tourists and believers, who are currently going in even
greater numbers to take stock of the disaster and to admire the miracle.