OCTOBER 8, 1962 MARI-LOLI AND JACINTA, IN TURN, LEARN, AS EARLY AS THE DAY FOLLOWING THE NOTA OF MSGR. BEITIA, ABOUT THE COMING OF A VERY GREAT MIRACLE After a month of deprivation because of a new disobedience to her parents, Jacinta began to have ecstasies again. Mary revealed to her, and to Loli as well, the existence of Msgr. Beitia's first Note, written on the previous day but which was to be made public only on the following 19th of October. In this Note, the Bishop of Santander seemed to adopt completely the position of his predecessor, Msgr. Doroteo Fernandez, renewing in it the dispositions taken by the "Special Commission," and restating, out of pastoral prudence, the interdiction and warnings concerning Garabandal. On this October 8, 1962, the two visionaries especially learned of the coming of the future great Miracle that would prove the authenticity of the Messages and the "events" occurring at San Sebastian de Garabandal. [From 'Garabandal' Book, page 151]
“ LIVE THE MESSAGE “ & THE ROSARY At age 16 Conchita was already was spiritually wise: "There is no point in our believing in the apparitions if we do not heed the message." “To guess at dates regarding the [prophesied] Miracle shows a lack of faith in the Blessed Virgin .Indeed, the energies expended on this are so much better spent on living the Message! “ March 2013 Glenn’s conversation with Conchita With all of the arguing over which of the different visionary’s is right, predicting dates, the future of our new Pope, the direction of the church, I've learned one thing, its all distracting, and detracting from our spiritual goals. The best advice I ever got was from Conchita ( when I asked her about the direction of all these things) ,she talked about maintaining your spiritual life (Confession, penance ,mass, communion, the rosary, etc. ) and she said " I surround my self with good people, pray and don't worry " . ( Sounds like she took the advice of her friend Padre Pio ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If people wonder why God chose this place for the apparitions, here’s an interesting fact. I have posted the story that God and our Blessed Mother consider Garabandal “Sacred Ground”. It is a confirmed fact that the Rosary has been said there on a nightly basis for over 500 years ! When Mary first appeared at Garabandal, the first thing she taught the girls, was the Rosary. She actually took the time to teach them all the words and especially to emphasize saying it slowly. She taught the children to recite the rosary each time they saw her and that they actually did recite it during every apparition . Conchita, diary, jp89: "The rosary is a very important part of the Blessed Virgin's message"..." Mary also emphasized the importance of the daily rosary not only for our personal needs each day, but also she reminded the girls of the importance to pray for the dead, and especially her priests. I always thought it was interesting that of all the people in the world who supported and believed in Garabandal , the most influential was Padre Pio. He was known to have a great affection for our Blessed Mother, and coincidently, the rosary. He would do up to 30 rosaries a day ! Many years ago when I started promoting the apparitions ,while having a conversation with Conchita, she asked me " Do you do the rosary everyday ? " I said " well, ...not everyday, I'm busy,I have several jobs". She said " Don't promote the messages ,unless you are going to live the messages". Wow, that kind of knocked me for a loop, but she's right ! It is amazing that when you make the time to do those things , it seems like there is plenty of time to do them. God is funny that way. One of the most powerful weapons we all have, is sitting right in our homes everyday, waiting to be used, USE IT !
OCTOBER 11, 1961: FIRST CLARIFICATION OF THE VERY IMPORTANT REVELATION OF OCTOBER 1, 1961: THE FUTURE AND DEFINITIVE "PERFECT UNITY OF ALL CHRISTIANS". The conversations between Father Luis and the visionaries have, it appears to us, always held a very positive ecumenical trait. On the Feast, then, of the Divine Motherhood of Mary, Fr. Luis and Conchita spoke about this extraordinary prophecy already partly revealed by Our Lady on the previous October 1: "Ah, the Churches will be reunited? . . . Yes, they will be reunited! . . ." Conchita rejoiced over this formidable prophetic news. In November 1965, the visionary, as she had already done many times since October 11, 1961, confirmed the accuracy of that great revelation to the German editor, Albrecht Weber. She also clarified somewhat, what the Blessed Virgin had told her concerning the great Church event to come. "She (Our Lady) again told us that the divided (Churches) will reunite. There will be only one 'religion.' A better translation: "The Christian Churches will then be One in the Catholic Church." In the light of such a prophetic revelation, the meaning and scope of the "one, Catholic, apostolic and Roman Church" that the visionaries, in ecstasy, had professed for the first time on August 1, 1961, at the time of the recitation of the Creed, acquired their full significance. [Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, page 107]
OCTOBER 11, 1962 CONCHITA FALLS IN ECSTASY AT THE EXACT MOMENT OF THE OPENING, IN ROME, OF THE ECUMENICAL COUNCIL VATICAN II On the morning of the Opening of the Second Vatican Council, it was raining heavily in Rome. But when the Conciliar Fathers started in procession towards St. Peter's Basilica, the sky suddenly cleared up and the sun came out again. At that same moment, another amazing phenomenon was unfolding at Garabandal; just as the radio was transmitting, at 8 a.m., the Opening of the Council and the inauguration ceremony, Conchita fell into ecstasy in her home; it lasted throughout her wandering through the lanes of the village, where witnesses could hear the seer talking of the Council with her Vision! The visionary, who did not yet know the date, asked the apparition if the Miracle would occur during the Council. The beginning of an answer would be given to her during an important ecstasy, on the following 18th of November. Reverend Ramon Garcia de la Riva had spent, in the company of several other persons, the night of October 10 to 11 at Conchita's house. In order to enliven the long vigil, each had tried to guess the time when the visionary would have her ecstasy. The pastor of Barro alone found the right answer. Msgr. Beitia was in Rome, sitting with his peers, when the newspapers published his first Note. The "aficionados" of Garabandal were obviously very disappointed. But Conchita, in a letter that she would send on that very same day to Fr. Ramon Andreu, reported, on behalf of the Blessed Virgin, that "the bishop (of Santander) in reality had a strong interior desire and real hope to discern the true origin of a matter of such gravity." [From 'Garabandal' Book, page 153]
Affirmations of the Faith at Garabandal (part 1 ) The Blessed Virgin reaffirmed at Garabandal the teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church just as they were about to come under attack. from GARABANDAL JOURNAL Nov-Dec. 2002 By Mark Regis All of the Church recognized appearances of the Blessed Virgin in the first half of the twentieth century were timed to historical events. Our Lady appeared at Fatima in 1917 during World War I (1914-18) and said that the war would soon end, but that if mankind did not amend its ways, a second and worse one would come and that Russia would spread her errors throughout the world. Our Lady's last appearance at Fatima occurred one month before the outbreak of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia (November 1917) which gave birth to one of the greatest scourges of human history, atheistic communism. Lesser known appearances of Our Lady in Belgium at Beauraing (1932-33) and Banneux (1933) also had historical significance. It was in 1933 that Adolf Hitler established in Germany a dictatorship whose aggression would initiate the Second World War (1939-1945). The Blessed Virgin's appearances at Garabandal from 1961 to 1965 also coincided with a significant event which although not political, was nevertheless historical in the life of the Church: the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). What occurred in the aftermath of this Council can hardly be described as changes in practice, discipline, liturgy, art, architecture and music reshaped the familiar landscape. of traditional Catholicism. The extent of the changes often finds expression in the phrases "pre Vatican II" and "post Vatican II" even though Pope John Paul II has vigorously opposed the notion that the Council was meant to be a point of departure from all that preceded it. In his opening address to the Council on October 11, 1962, Pope John XXX stressed that there should be a "renewed, serene and tranquil adherence to all the teachings of the Church in their entirety and preciseness, as they still shine forth in the acts of the Council of Trent and the First Vatican Council." What actually happened during and immediately after the Council hardly conformed to Pope John's words. Father Joseph Pelletier summarized the situation: "Though in preparation for some years before the Council...the storm only manifested itself in a serious way during the Council. That storm grew in fury during the Council and in the first few years after it." In the upheaval, what previously would have seemed unthinkable for Catholics, happened. The sacred teachings and practices of the Faith came under fire. Core beliefs such as the existence of hell, purgatory, angels, Original Sin, and even the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist were challenged as well as the need for private confession. Attempts were made to suppress devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. But, as Father Pelletier pointed out: "God anticipated all this and gave the remedy to His Church through the apparitions of Garabandal. The messages received through these apparitions gave us the answer to the problems that began to beset the Church. God through Mary, His messenger, was telling us to maintain our traditional belief and devotional practices in regard to all these things." What follows are some of the beliefs and practices that have been challenged and how Our Lady responded in advance at Garabandal. HELL:While hell is seldom if ever preached today in the majority of churches, the Blessed Virgin did not hesitate to make reference to it at Garabandal. In her second Message of June 18, 1965, delivered by Saint Michael on her behalf to Conchita, Our Lady said: "Many cardinals, many bishops and many priests are on the road to perdition and are taking many souls with them." If there is any doubt that perdition refers to hell, here is the Webster's Unabridged description: Perdition: 1. a state of final spiritual ruin; loss of the soul; damnation. 2. the future state of the wicked. 3. hell. In that same Message, Our Lady again alluded to hell when she said: "You are now receiving the last warnings. I love you very much and do not want your condemnation." Another reference to hell was made on January 1, 1965, during an apparition at the Pines, when the Blessed Virgin told Conchita that Catholic Christians do not think enough about life after death, about heaven and hell. Picture: Jacinta in ecstasy in 1962 holds up religious articles for the Virgin to kiss. PURGATORY:(See Garabandal and Purgatory 2.) ANGELS:A university student once asked Padre Pio: "Does God exist?" The Padre responded with a question of his own: "Are you crazy?" To ask a religious consecrated to God and especially someone who frequently saw Jesus and Mary and spoke almost daily with his guardian angel, the question must have seemed ridiculous. Equally absurd would it have been to ask the visionaries of Garabandal if they believed in angels since they not only were seeing one on a regular basis, but frequently received Communion from him. And although invisible to onlookers, the Hosts they received were real Hosts which they could taste and swallow. The importance of St. Michael the Archangel appearing at Garabandal is of such significance for our times that it will be treated separately in a future issue. ORIGINAL SIN: At Garabandal, the Blessed Virgin reaffirmed the existence of Original Sin. On March 31, 1962, Mari Loli's mother, Julia, gave birth to Lupita, sister to the visionary on the upper floor of the inn which served also as their dwelling. Mari Loli entered into ecstasy on the ground floor and was heard to say: "Ah! It is a little sister? What, so little and sin already in her?" She then came out of ecstasy. A priest present at the time asked her what she meant. She answered: "I saw sin in the soul of my little sister." On another occasion, Conchita related the following. A young woman was holding a three month old baby in her arms. The visionary spoke of the baby to the Blessed Virgin who said the infant was in the state of sin. Out of ecstasy Conchita commented: "I don't know what it means, but if the Blessed Virgin said it is so, then it must be so." She went up to the young woman and told her: "The Virgin told me that the baby is in the state of sin." The mother answered: "It's true. The baby has not yet been baptized." Soon afterwards, the child did receive the sacrament of Baptism. This incident had an influence on the young visionary in later life, since Conchita always insisted on having her children baptized the first Sunday after their birth.
PART 2 cont. CONFESSION: At Garabandal the Blessed Virgin reinforced the importance of personal confession. When interviewed in April of 1983, visionary Jacinta Moynihan was asked: "Did the Blessed Virgin ever speak to you about the Sacrament of Reconciliation?" She replied: "Yes she did. Now there are people who want to do away with it, but the Virgin said it was muy importante— very important." (On page 11 in this magazine, is an incident involving Jacinta during the apparitions where confession came into play.) On September 8, 1961, Canon Julio Porro Cardenoso asked the Virgin through the visionaries what she urged the Spanish people to do above all to amend their lives. The answer was: "Let them go to confession and receive Communion." THE HOLY EUCHARIST:Without a healthy devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the very heart of Catholicism, the Church cannot thrive, and for more than three decades, we have witnesses the systematic dismantling of Eucharistic devotion. In her second Message of Garabandal dated June 18, 1965, the Blessed Virgin warned us of what was coming when she said "less and less importance is being given to the Eucharist." To counteract this coming trend, Our Lady placed such great importance on the Holy Eucharist at Garabandal that Father Ramon Andreu was of the opinion that the main thrust of the events was the priesthood and the Eucharist. A detailed description of the Eucharistic dimension of Garabandal should be the subject of a separate article so all that will be touched upon here is the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle. There have been some disturbing stories of priests who did not believe the Real Presence remained in the Hosts after Mass. But at Garabandal, Our Lady left little room for doubt when in the first Message of June 18, 1961, she said we must "visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently." During the events, once the ambulatory ecstasies began, the Virgin always led the seers to the village church where they would kneel and pray before the tabernacle. When they were asked why they went to the church so often, they replied that Our Lady said she liked being near her Son. On those occasions, the visionaries, in ecstasy led by the Virgin, would leave the church walking backwards. As a sign of profound respect, they never turned their backs to the tabernacle. In her last appearance at Garabandal on November 13, 1965, the Blessed Virgin gently reprimanded Conchita when she said: "Why don't you go and visit my Son in the tabernacle? He waits for you night and day." MARIAN DEVOTION: Our Lady responded at Garabandal, to the attempt to minimize her importance, by proclaiming her rightful universal motherhood. In the second formal Message are her words: "I, your mother, ask you to amend your lives." And in her final appearance to Conchita she said: "Talk to me about my children. I hold them all beneath my mantle." The two principal Marian devotions of the rosary and scapular were prominent at Garabandal. The Virgin appeared as Our Lady of Mount Carmel with the scapular on her right wrist and told the visionaries of its importance. During almost every apparition, she commanded the visionaries to say the rosary. She taught them the mysteries and how to say the prayers slowly thinking about the words. TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM The above represent major issues, but certainly not all. The priesthood, religious life and virtually all aspects of the Faith were challenged immediately after the Council. But at Garabandal the Blessed Virgin affirmed not only the dogmas of faith, but the full expression of traditional Catholicism. One of the ways she did this was to incorporate the use of religious articles, so much a part of Catholic culture, into the events. Prior to the visionaries seeing Our Lady, they received three interior calls or llamadas with each successive call coming at a closer interval. After the third call, the young seers, knowing the vision was imminent, began to search for a small crucifix to have in their hands when they were overtaken by the ecstasy. They did this at the request of Our Lady and once in ecstasy, they held it up to the Virgin to kiss, then kissed it themselves, and finally, as they moved along, held it out for the spectators to venerate. The kissing of other religious articles by Our Lady at Garabandal was also a common feature of the events, and there are many fascinating anecdotes from this practice such as the following witnessed by villager Piedad Gonzalez. At the beginning of 1963, in the third year of the apparitions, thirty women from Segovia went up to Garabandal to witness the ecstasies of the four girls. They brought with them a bag containing the rosaries of all the women in the group which they wanted to give to one of the visionaries so the rosaries could be kissed by Our Lady. Upon entering the village, the women came across Piedad and asked her what time there would be an ecstasy. "Mari Loli will have one at about 10:00 o'clock, " they were told. In Piedad's kitchen, one of the women removed the rosaries from the bag intending to distribute them because each member of the group wanted personally to hand their own rosary to the visionary. The rosaries, however, were all tangled together in a big ball and it was impossible to get them apart. Piedad said, "Look, just put them back in the bag and give it to Loli. She will untangle them." The women looked at Piedad not very convinced. "Don't look at me like that," she responded. "You'll see, you'll see!" At the appointed time, Loli went into ecstasy holding the bag of rosaries. She left her house and went out into the village plaza followed by her father and a large crowd. After a while, she stopped, conversed with her Vision and then began effortlessly to draw the rosaries from the bag one by one to present to the Vision. Each time she did this, she took the rosary, and still in ecstasy with her head tilted back, went through the crowd until she was in front of the rightful owner, and then placed it around her neck. She repeated this action thirty times until all the women had their own rosaries, kissed by the Virgin, returned to them. Piedad said: "I saw weeping and fainting that night."
Part 3 ECUMENISM: The concept of ecumenism was prominent at the Second Vatican Council from the very beginning. Fathers from countries with large Protestant populations were especially keen on a conciliar decree that would foster greater "dialogue" with non-Catholic Christians. To their way of thinking, in order to do this, the importance of Our Lady had to be de-emphasized. In the preparatory stages of the Council, the schema on the Blessed Virgin was originally entitled: "On the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of Men." It was variously considered as a separate schema or as part of the schema on the Church. The schema itself which contained traditional references to Our Lady and her prerogatives such as "Mediatrix of all graces" was especially protested by the German Fathers' chief peritus. Father Karl Rahner who said "unimaginable harm would result from an ecumenical point of view, in relation to both Orientals and Protestants" if the schema were not revised. Eventually it became the last three chapters of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church with none of the chapter heads naming Mary as either Mother of God or Mother of Men. But in the end, the progressives did not entirely have their way. The section on the Blessed Virgin in the document, with an additional thirteen lines added, came at the end giving it greater impact, and it did refer to Mary in the text as Mother of God and Mother of Men. A final blow to the liberal Fathers came on Saturday, November 21, 1964, closing day of the third session, when Pope Paul VI unexpectedly proclaimed the Blessed Virgin Mary as "Mother of the Church." [The Rhine Flows into the Tiber, A History of Vatican Two, Fr. Ralph M. Wiltgen, S.V.D.] At Garabandal, Our Lady demonstrated what we might call her own form of ecumenism as related by Conchita in a 1975 interview: "One day there were in the village two men, one mentally unbalanced, the other a Protestant. They asked me to allow them to kiss my crucifix when I next saw Our Lady. I was quite concerned about this as in my mind I didn't think they should kiss the crucifix. When Our Lady appeared to me, I told her about their request and how I felt about it. She looked at them and said, 'They are all my children.' After the ecstasy, they came over to me and thanked me for having given them the crucifix to kiss. I did not do this on my own; it was Our Lady who gave them the crucifix. I do not remember giving it to them." But Garabandal provides the ultimate solution to the ecumenical question. In the previously mentioned 1983 interview with Jacinta Moynihan, the visionary shed more light on what she had previously said regarding the unity of the Churches: Q. Do you remember when the Virgin told you that the Churches would unite? A. I don't remember when but she did say the Churches would unite. Q. Did she say if it would be the Catholics and the Protestants or did it include, for example, the Orthodox Church as well? A. All would reunite into the Catholic Church. Q. All would come into the Catholic Church? A. She didn't name the other Churches, but said that all would come into the Catholic Church. The way she said it was: all humanity would be within one Church, the Catholic Church. In the first part of this article, is stated that the apparitions of Garabandal coincided with a Church event as opposed to a historical event on the world stage such as a major war. While that is true, an important qualification needs to be added here. Historians, especially Catholic historians, point to the 1960s as one of the most, if not the most, infamous decades in modern times. It was in the 1960s that the sexual revolution was born. It was a time of protest, a time of revolt against convention, and of every kind of authority: parental, governmental, military, civil, institutional and religious. Many of the problems we face today had their origins in the 1960s. It was during this revolutionary period that the Blessed Virgin "went in haste" to the mountains of northern Spain to manifest her maternal love for her children, to give them a plan of action, and to warn them against the dangers of a life separated from God. In reflecting not only on the historical timing of Garabandal but on the progression of the events, a question comes to mind. Why did the Blessed Virgin prolong her visits until 1965 when most of the apparitions ended in January 1963? Hadn't everything been accomplished by then? Throughout the rest of 1963 and all of 1964, there was only one apparition (for Conchita alone on December 8, 1963) and in 1965, only three also only for Conchita. It would seem that she was waiting for something—actually two things: First, she wanted to see if her Message of October 18, 1961, would be heeded. This can be ascertained by the way she begins her second Message: "As my Message of October 18 has not been complied with and has not been made know to the world, I am advising you that this is the last one." Secondly, she was waiting for the Council. Since Our Lady was officially proclaimed "Mother of the Church" by Pope Paul VI on the last day of the third Council session in 1964, she could now take the occasion to speak as a mother to her children among whom were those preparing for the final session. Her message of June 18, 1965, came three months before the last session began on September 14 of that year. And while the Message applied to all, some of it specifically referred to many cardinals, bishops and priests who at that time were engaged in the Council. There are those who believe the upheaval that occurred after the Council was not so much due to the Council itself but rather by the way liberals took advantage of the general nature of the documents to interpret them their own way. Many of us are only too familiar with the "Spirit of Vatican II." If the above is true, then the question is, Will the Council ever be implemented according to the Church's ongoing tradition the only correct interpretation? Snippets of a dialogue between Conchita and her Vision recorded on tape November 18, 1962, suggest that this will indeed happen, but not be until after the Miracle. During the same dialogue Conchita mentioned conversions on a very large scale. from GARABANDAL JOURNAL Nov-Dec. 2002 http://ourlady.ca/info/affirmationsofFaith.htm
OCTOBER 13, 1961: A "13TH OF OCTOBER" WITH PROFOUND AND PROPHETIC RESONANCES? A crowd of seventy thousand was present at the "Miracle of the Sun" at Fatima, on October 13, 1917. The Blessed Virgin was appearing for the sixth and last time, on that same day in 1917, to the young visionaries of the Cova da Iria, . . . under the title of 'Our Lady of Mount Carmel'. At Garabandal, on this "October 13," there occurred a mysterious cosmic phenomenon, the only one of which the Blessed Virgin refused to explain the nature or the reason, to the girls! Conchita and Loli, in ecstasy, saw, as it were, a dazzling star, not a comet, "nothing of that kind," said Don Valentin, who, at least in part, had witnessed the event, as had other people there. Kind of a preview of the prophetic worldwide AVISO? * Aviso is Spanish for "Warning". [Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, page 107]
Wings on Their Feet As an example of what was happening almost every day in Garabandal, here is what occurred on July 16th. This was the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, elaborately celebrated throughout Spain, [Apart from devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel per se, among the reasons for this are the large number of women in Spain who are named Maria del Carmen, and the fact that Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patroness of sailors.] which in that year fell on a Sunday. I personally received the account from Andrés Otero Lorenzo from Santiago; he was both a witness and a participant in what he described. PHOTO: "The face turned completely upwards with a most beautiful expression" On that July 16th, in the early hours of the afternoon, Mr. Lorenzo came by car to Garabandal together with Mrs. Zubiria and Carmen Herrero Y. Garralda, youngest daughter of the Marquese de Aledo. [Mr. Otero was at that time chauffeur to the Marquesa. The car that he took that day to Garabandal was a utility vehicle of Mrs. Zubiria that was better suited for the rugged ascent to the village.] They had left Ribadesella [A beautiful village in Asturias, very popular as a summer resort.] several hours before and were arriving for the first time in Garabandal. Like so many other strangers they soon came upon the home and cafe of Ceferino Mazón and began to ask questions. However no one could say for sure that there would be an apparition that night. Loli, who was doing housework, soon appeared, and they learned from her that there would be an apparition — obviously she had already had a call. However she was not able to tell at what time it would be. Then they went out to stroll around and learn about the quaint and unusual town. They stopped at Conchita's house and had a talk with her. She confirmed what Loli had said. Yes, they were waiting for something, but much later. From the church tower the bells then began to ring out the first calls for the rosary in the church.[It was customary to recite the rosary at nightfall.] The three travelers went out into the street again and made their way toward the church, strolling leisurely. They had not yet arrived at the plaza when they saw Conchita passing them swiftly, looking upwards as if transported. Mr. Otero, a strong man in his thirties, ran after her, attempting to stay at her side in order to observe her to his satisfaction. «I was impressed by her face,» — he told me — «her total appearance, I had never seen anything like it before, nor have I seen anything like it since. [Meaning away from Garabandal, of course; since this man later made more visits to the village and viewed many of the girls' ecstasies that always left him amazed.] The face turned completely upwards with a most beautiful expression; the lips partially open — I don't know whether for praying or for speaking, or for both — the hands joined in front of her chest moving the beads of a rosary between the fingers. And then her walk! It was really unique in its grace and lightness; she appeared to take normal steps, yet one had almost to run in order not to be left behind..» PHOTO: "Her walk! It was really unique in its grace and lightness." When they had come to the level of Ceferino's house. Loli also came outside in ecstasy with the same attitude and expression as Conchita. Without looking at each other, they joined perfectly together and continued toward the church, not holding hands as on so many other occasions, but separated, each one holding the rosary with her hands on her chest. The church filled rapidly with the faithful. The two visionaries came in their ecstatic march up to the altar rail itself; there with one of those falls that are so striking and frightening, they dropped to their knees on the floor. Up to here they had come protected by Mr. Otero (who had not separated himself from Conchita), Ceferino, and his older son Fernando (Nandin} who had left the house behind Loli. The three had joined hands in the street and had formed a barrier so that the people in their desire to see and touch would not accidentally fall on top of the little girls. Following the custom, a woman from the village [Referring to Maximina Gonzalez, Conchita's aunt, Father Jose Ramon Garcia de la Riva, of whom we will speak later on, told me this. Sometimes another woman of the village, Celina Gonzalez, led it.] led the recitation of the rosary and during it the girls in ecstasy answered until the finish. When the prayer ended they stood up, left the church reverently, and began an ecstatic march [This name was given to the traveling from one location to another that occurred during the ecstasies. These ecstatic walks were very frequent at Garabandal. «Sometimes they marched forward all together with a normal pace. Other times they started together, and later they separated each one for a different street, to come together again finally at a determined spot, showing great joy on meeting. The most frequent thing was to go forward at great speed, in such a manner that not even the fastest were able to follow them. There have been cases in which they have marched on their knees, and even sitting down . . . These changes of location in ecstasy were due to the apparition coming and going from the location with the girls following her; but not knowing how. They were not able to say whether they were running, walking, or lying down, or even if they were really moving or not.» (Father Ramón Andreu)] toward the Pines. The three bodyguards, in spite of their robust condition, became exhausted in following them. Many persons, among them the two women who had come from Ribadesella, soon quit — the march was not for the unconditioned. Our informant Mr. Otero does not lack vocabulary, including one that can be very expressive; but he could not succeed in describing the grace of those walks while in ecstasy. PHOTO: "Looking always and only upwards, they never stumbled."
«They did not fly as has been said at times by persons who have seen the affair from afar and in the dark. They did not fly; that could easily be determined. Their feet touched on the ground, but in a way that I don't know how to describe. Looking always and only upwards they never stumbled on anything, nor did they slide, nor did they strike against any stones. PHOTO: And look out! There are rocks and stones throughout those streets." And look out! There are rocks and stones throughout those streets and paths of Garabandal. Especially at that time, for later the people that came cleared away the worse stones little by little; I myself have taken many away during my various trips. They marched as if they were flying, but not flying; while the rest of the people were falling and sliding. But you would have to see what that was like! Above all, the running in the dark and in the dim light. The girls walked as if their feet had eyes to search for the exact spot where it was best to step, always on top of the rocks and pebbles or away from them, never striking against them. And with a lightness, a grace, and rhythm I could not describe. I fell several times and stumbled many more times; but although perspiring and gasping for breath, I couldn't succeed in keeping up with them. I could never forget those marvelous things. Oh! I forgot. Before entering the calleja, at the level of the highest houses of the village, in the middle of the street, closed in by its walls, the girls had one of their falls. It seemed my heart stopped with the noise of the cracking their knees made. Heavens! Those girls have smashed their knees and broken their legs, I said to myself. But nothing of the kind happened as I found out later. It had become dusk rather early, for in the final hours of the afternoon some low-lying clouds had come from the surrounding mountains, darkening the sky considerably. The people were quietly walking as well as they could manage behind us, when suddenly, there came the fall. I was seeing it for the first time, and it frightened me, for I saw how they plunged suddenly on their bare knees on top of the ground with its rocks and stones. The fall sounded sharp, like the breaking of bones. PHOTO: "I cannot explain how they — without ever looking away a second from the vision on high — could follow that path." For a little while they remained on their knees on top of the stones. They fixed their gaze on something that was above and in front of them. They smiled, and what a charming smile! They moved their lips as if to speak or pray, but in a whisper, in such a way that one could hardly tell one word from another. It was impossible to doubt that they were with someone. I had a privileged position, almost leaning against the children, and could observe as I pleased. Thus I could make some tests. I made a motion to stick my fingers in their eyes. Repeatedly I passed my hand in front of them. Not a contraction, not a blinking! They were completely absorbed in something that we could not comprehend, that was totally outside what was happening around them. At my side a doctor — I saw him well, although he tried to hide — dared even more than I myself. With a needle he repeatedly stuck them in the arms. Nevertheless, there did not appear in them the least sign that they had felt anything. I know that these tests were repeated during various other falls that they had during the march on that afternoon. Finally they got up and they continued upwards toward the Pines. We followed them as well as we could through that long and difficult calleja of the apparitions. I cannot explain how they — without ever looking away a second from the vision on high — could follow that path without deviating the slightest either to the right or to the left. And how they walked over all types of obstacles, especially at the top of the slope, so steep, with so many bushes and thorny plants. They fell on their knees before the Pines as if someone had placed them carefully there, without scratch marks, without perspiration, without the least sign of fatigue. On the other hand, the rest of us were arriving perspiring, gasping for breath, with the marks of our falls, spills, and scratches. It did not surprise me that so many people had remained along the way. PHOTO: "I could notice the extraordinary laugh and smile of the children in ecstasy."
On their knees in front of one of the Pines — I think it was the center one — they stayed a long time praying, talking and smiling with someone invisible. Leaning my ear against their faces, I could catch some of the words from time to time. I think that what they repeated most when they spoke was this, How good, how good! Oh, yes? Oh, how good!» ——————— I would think that our celestial Mother — on her feast as Our Lady of Mount Carmel — would speak to her little ones out of the great love and merry she has toward all her children on earth, her little children in danger, telling them about the plans of aid and salvation that she always undertakes for their welfare. But let us continue to listen to Mr. Otero: «During the time at the Pines I could notice the extraordinary laugh and smile of the children in ecstasy. They laughed with their whole person. They had none of what is so frequent and what we might call laughing with the mouth only. Their laugh came bursting out from within themselves, because I think that they were then full of a joy of which we were unaware. The people around them started to keep a religious silence, and then someone began to lead a prayer. It was night, but one could see rather well by the light from the flashlights. I myself, not wanting to miss anything, was also there to protect the children — together with Ceferino and his son. To do this, on our knees as we were, we held out our arms and hung on to each other's hands, forming a little wall in a half circle that prevented the curious from falling on top of the two children. In order to push harder, at one time I stretched out my free left hand to grab one of those pine branches — at that time there were some very low ones [Today it would not be possible to do what Mr. Otero did, since the low branches of the Pines are all gone; the people have cut them off in order to lake a souvenir or relic.] — when I heard Loli shout, Hey, he is touching the Virgin! You can imagine my emotions! The coming down from the Pines had more or less the same characteristics as the going up. The children, remaining in ecstasy, had still another fall — very different from the ones we were having. And everything ended at the church doors. When the girls returned to their normal selves [The entrance of the girls into the trance was instantaneous. In a fraction of a second they raised their heads sharply and were held affixed to the vision, which led them from one place to another. The general way of ending was by making the sign of the cross or giving a kiss. But what occurred at the end, according to what they explained, was that «the Virgin went away as though she were dissolving.» (Father Andreu in the report previously mentioned)] I could ascertain more at leisure and more carefully that they had not broken any bones, nor did they have any marks on their knees. If that isn't a miracle, then let the intellectuals tell me what is. PHOTO: "They were oblivious to the things that were happening around them." To complete my astonishment, after all those things had left the rest of us depleted, I saw that the girls were fresher and in better condition than ever, without tiredness or exhaustion, as if they had just come out of the most restful and contented sleep. I myself wasn't in such good shape. And it was no pleasure to look at my suit and shoes; I can tell you this, that I had come with some good quality shoes that were almost new, and the next day or the following, I had to buy new ones. Another thing about the girls that amazed me was that they were oblivious to the things that were happening around them — and that they had the impression that all this that lasted more than two hours, had lasted only a few seconds — and it seemed to them that they had hardly moved. In later visits to Garabandal with members of the Aledo family, I had the good fortune to see many other things; but the things I saw on the first day impressed me the most. I can positively assure you that I'll never forget that day. It was unique and I know for my part I've seen many countries and many things.» ——————— The man showed me a photograph [When the events began, amateur and professional photographers soon appeared. These saw a means of income in selling photographs of the girls. But neither the girls themselves, nor their families took part in any of this.] of the four girls in ecstasy with the signature of each one of them and their age. He had acquired this on the day after the events related and on it was marked clearly the date: July 17, 1961. This, he told me, I would not give away no matter how much money you offer me.And he held it very carefully. But then, all those things that José Otero could observe on his first day in San Sebastián de Garabandal had been everyday occurrences there — except the ecstatic marches — for almost a month, and would continue to be everyday occurrences for many more months. And many refused to believe. And almost all were asking again and again for a miracle!
I just found a rare reference in my files ,that occurred on October 12-13,1961 It was the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar [The feast of Our Lady of the Pillar is on October 12th. It is a great feastday in Spain and Latin America. The religious celebration comes from devotion to Mary through an ancient statue in the great Marian basilica in Saragossa. The statue, because it stands on a column (reputedly part of the column on which Christ was scourged), has received the name of del Pilar. According to tradition, here on the banks of the Ebro River, the first temple was built to honor Mary on the Iberian peninsula, the land of the Mother of God. The civil holiday, both in Spain and Latin-America, is based on the fact that on October 12th, 1492, the Spanish discoverers landed on the American continent. Also on October 12th, the Civil Guard celebrates the feastday of its patron. Juan Alvarez Seco, the chief of the Civil Guard, stated: «On October 12th, while apart from the others, I received the cross to kiss from the four girls, as if it were a congratulation from the Virgin for being the feast of our patron and for having come on that evening to Garabandal.»] during another day of our apparitions, at which Loli and I were present. While we were looking at the Virgin, a star with a very long tail was seen beneath the Virgin's feet. Several people saw this. We asked the Virgin what it meant; but she didn't answer. To be exact about the time, the phenomenon about which Conchita speaks seems to have occurred not on October 12th, the feastday of Our Lady of the Pillar, but on the beginning of October 13th. But what she writes is easily explainable; since in the determination of time, for the girls the day began on getting up in the morning and ended on going to bed at night; that is, the time during which they were awake. The ecstasies that began on the evening of October 12th extended into the middle of the night. The people began leaving, and toward 2:30 in the morning almost no one remained in the little village plaza except a small group consisting of responsible men: Dr. Ortiz from Santander, Luis Adaro from Gijón, Rafael Sanz Moliner from Oviedo, and Rufino Alonso from Pola de Siero. They had met there, waiting for their wives who had gone to Mari Cruz' home to collect some religious articles that they had entrusted with the girl to give to the Virgin to kiss. Mari Cruz had an ecstasy during which she had gone up to the Pines. There she had prayed a Station to the Blessed Sacrament, and later stopped in the calleja, at the site of the first apparition, where she prayed another Station. The people in the plaza soon saw two of the girls, Conchita and Loli, go under the balcony or terrace connected to the house of Loli's grandmother.They were in ecstasy there and let out a shout at the same time as they raised up their arms. "We saw the Virgin throw down a star." «Instinctively» — Dr. Ortiz said — "We looked upwards toward the sky, and we saw a star cross from the north to the south (that is, in the direction toward the Pines) with a great brilliance, leaving a trail that lasted several seconds ... I know that Maximina Gonzalez and other women of the village saw the star too. On the contrary some young boys, who were at the entrance of Ceferino's house and who ran toward the girls on hearing the cry, didn't see anything because they were under the balcony like the girls. After the star had passed, we went where the girls were and accompanied them praying toward the church, at whose entrance the ecstasy stopped. Immediately we asked them: — Why did you scream? — Because we saw the Virgin throw down a star. — But you couldn't have seen the star, since you were under the balcony! — Well we certainly saw it. The Virgin did this." Father Valentin mentions this phenomena in his notes: "We were in the plaza. Conchita and Loli shouted out loud with fear. Everyone was frightened. Some of the people looked at the girls; others looked at the sky. Those who did the latter said that they saw a brilliant star that crossed from one part of the sky to another, and that it could not in any way be mistaken for a shooting star or comet. After having screamed, the girls laughed and went on happily, as if dancing with joy." It is understandable that all these things, wrapped like this in a halo of mystery, and probably magnified by being transmitted from person to person, necessarily had to leave the people very impressed. With all these things happening, it would be easy to think: Where will all this end? Surely all these things are an announcement of something great to come. What will we see on the day of the message? "
Glenn, This is the first time I have heard this story. The instance of the star crossing the sky also occurred before sunrise on October 13. It is fascinated that you just came across it and re-published it today on 10/13, some 57 years later! Safe Under Mary's Mantle!
SO HAPPY TO FINALLY ANNOUNCE THAT POPE PAUL VI HAS BEEN RAISED TO SAINTHOOD ! HE JOINS 5 OTHER SAINTS WHO WERE BELIEVERS IN GARABANDAL ! SAINT (PADRE) PIO SAINT (POPE) JOHN PAUL II SAINT (MOTHER) TERESA SAINT JOSE MARIA ESCRIVA SAINT (MADRE) MARAVILLAS https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...e-declares-oscar-romero-pope-paul-vi-58487000
October 14, 1961 Continued from yesterday's post- "We came to San Sebastian de Garabandal." The journey was not easy. It was the 14th, the second Saturday of October, the octave of that special feastday of the rosary that had taken place in Garabandal. Let us listen to what he says: "Some 20 kilometers before Cossio we had a tremendous smash-up with another car on a mountain pass. [Since they came from Palencia, this refers to the mountain pass of Puerto de Piedras Luengas. 1,213 meters above sea level, separating the provinces of Palencia and Santander. From here on a clear day, the superb panorama of the Picos de Europa and the Sierra de Peña Sagra can be viewed.] The accident could have had fatal consequences. Only later did I come to understand that it was without doubt the Most Holy Virgin who had saved us from certain death. Because of what had happened we came to San Sebastian de Garabandal very late, after eleven at night. We had barely arrived when we had the good fortune to be able to witness two ecstasies. I admit that at the time they did not impress me in the least. We retired to the house where we had lodging (all the houses of the village were open to Father Ramón María Andreu); and following this, at twelve o'clock, Father began to be very sick, with nausea, cold sweats, and terrible pains in his left ankle, which seemed very swollen . . . In the village were a doctor from Santander and a bone specialist from Burgos. [The house where Fr. Andreu and Mr. Forschler were staying belonged to a woman named Epifania, called Fania. Dr. Celestino Ortiz Pérez was the doctor from Santander and Dr. Renedo was the one from Burgos.] I called them. After an examination they made a diagnosis: besides the obvious swelling, there was probably a fracture of the ankle, at least a hairline crack. They applied a thorough dressing and an icepack that was able to be found, (from the indiano who had a refrigerator) and with several others carried him in their arms to the bed; his pains were terrible. [So severe were his pains that he was not able to tolerate the slight weight of the sheet put over it to cover it. The ice cubes were the only ice that could be found in the village and they came from the refrigerator of the indiano. In Santander, the word indiano refers to emigrants who return to Spain after making their fortune in America, the India of their ancestors. The emigration from Santander across the ocean was especially directed to Mexico and Cuba.] As an old friend of the father, I stayed in a second bed that they had set up in his room in order to take care of him at night. After a long time — it had to be 3:30 in the morning — we began hearing a noise in the street, and people shouting that the owner of the house should open the door, since Jacinta was there in ecstasy, wanting to come in. Shortly afterwards she appeared in the room, went toward Father and gave him the crucifix to kiss. [Jacinta entered the room, raised the crucifix up in her hand, and said to the vision, «Father is very sick! Cure him. He is delirious , . , Cure him.» At the exact moment when the priest kissed the crucifix that the girl held out to him, his pains disappeared completely. But he was very careful about saying this in front of the people that accompanied Jacinta — some had come from Seville, Cádiz and Jerez — for fear that all this was due to the tremendous emotion of the moment; he said to himself, «Here! Better not to be foolish! Keep yourself quiet as a dead man.» A bad feature of intellectualism, which is so unfavorable to the attitude of the Gospel, Unless you become like little children... A man who thinks of himself as an intellectual has less fear of being taken for a sick man than of being taken for a foolish one.] Following this she said something to him that I couldn't hear . . . The girl was starting to make expressions and gestures of farewell to the vision when suddenly she stopped. She leaned backwards toward where I was and held out the crucifix for me to kiss ----- two times!» It seems that took away Maximo's indifference. «When the girl left, we naturally began to discuss all the details; and Father confessed to me that he had actually requested in his conscience that the girl, before leaving, would also give me the crucifix to kiss. I thought about this for the rest of the night.» ----------------- Father Ramón gives a more detailed and vivid description of this. A short time after having kissed the crucifix that Conchita had offered him, he saw that she was beginning to make the sign of the cross and to hold out her cheeks for the invisible kisses: the unmistakeable sign that the ecstasy was going to end. Then he rapidly formed in his conscience a petition to the Virgin: that the girl would also give the crucifix to Máximo . . . (Hours before, the good man had followed the visionaries in their trances without obtaining the least demonstration of attention from them; but rather the opposite, since several times they had given the crucifix to the onlookers while they had always passed him by.)
I would also be of the opinion that since it carried over into Oct 13, there is a Fatima connection to Garabandal. Joey also talked about and connected Fatima to Garabandal as a “continuation of Fatima” but here(and what a great find and first for me to know of this event-WOW) we have a specific happening or event. Thanks for sharing Glenn.
In October of 1966, Conchita, at the time a young girl of seventeen, enrolled as a boarder in a school operated by the religious of the Concepcionistas Misioneras de la Ensañanza at 11 Miranda Street, Burgos. The people who were looking out for her welfare thought that this would provide her with both an isolated retreat and an education. As a retreat it would serve to isolate and shelter her from the indiscreet attention and curiosity that surrounded her in the village; and it would serve also to educate her since she was behind in her schooling and spiritual instruction. While here Conchita was under the care of a young religious: the directress of the college. Her name was : María Nieves García . She did not know much about Garabandal, except for the episcopal «Notas» that said No. Nevertheless, she set out to help the new student whom she sensed to be out of the ordinary. To be helpful, she put herself completely at Conchita's service, disposed to receive and hear her anytime. Conchita responded well to that attitude and soon an excellent spiritual relationship grew between them, with many periods of prayer, confidential words, and animated conversations. The writings that the sister preserves from those times begin like this: "Feeling herself strange to everything, Conchita came to the college in such a bad state that she had to struggle very hard. And furthermore she constantly had to hide her identity. She needed a friend in whom she could confide everything that she was holding inside, to whom she would be able to unburden her worries and speak of "everything that had happened" naturally and simply. Because of this, I told her that she could come to see me in my free hours whenever she wanted to. I left this completely to her preference; I never called for her myself". View attachment 8709
