Letter to Fr. Ramón by Dr. D.C. Ortiz Pérez, from Santander February 2, 1962 Reverend Father Andreu: I am going to tell you about the impressions of my last trip to Garabandal on January 27th. For this date, the Marquis of Santa María had already given more facts. He told me that he would see you on the next day. The event that caught my attention is that after 7 consecutive months of “marvelous ecstasies,” the four girls continue with the utmost normality, although many people “who don’t see” maintain that this is the result of a pathology. The girls continue their ecstasies the same as always, running through the streets of the village praying, with this precious transformation on their faces and movements that seem to be images. On the afternoon of the 28th, with the difference of approximately 10 minutes from one to the other, María Dolores and Conchita had ecstasies in their houses and left directly for the Church. When they met each other, they were very happy and they ran through the streets of the village singing the rosary. They visited the houses of the sick where they prayed and gave the crucifix to be kissed. It made a great impression on me when they visited a sick old man (uncle Leoncio) who was blind, deranged, had the flu, and was in agony. They knelt at the head of his bed, praying Hail Marys without interruption, and everyone answered except the dying man. After 15 or 16 prayers, the sick man responded with ‘Holy Mary’ in a clear voice and added: “I pray because I have faith.” In this moment, they put the statue of Christ to his lips, and he kissed it. The girls had expressions of immense enjoyment. They returned to the normal state after approximately 2 and a quarter hours. At ten at night we thought we’d return, and it took half an tour for us to leave. We realized that María Cruz was running through the streets of the village in ecstasy accompanied by her parents. We united with a group and prayed with them. These are the facts of what happened on the 28th in Garabandal. Respectful greeting from my wife—she tells what this good friend always offers. I salute you affectionately. D.C. Ortiz
"LIVE THE MESSAGES !" 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." (Star on the Mountain, p. 118 ) “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 what is most important, maintaining your spiritual life, (Confession, penance ,mass, communion, the rosary, the Morning Offering, etc.) and she said : " I surround myself with good people, pray and don't worry " . ( Sounds like she took the advice of her friend Padre Pio )
Garabandal’s Signs and Messages (Fr. Justo Lofeudo) https://ourlady.ca/2020/05/garabandals-signs-and-messages-fr-justo-lofeudo-new/
THE “CALLS” OR JOYS. The Mysterious Calls described by Conchita When the hour was approximately the same as Sunday—the first day on which we had seen the vision—our families, who were now believing a lot, said to us, You should go to say the rosary in the Cuadro. And we told them, We haven’t been called yet. And they thought about this and said, But how are you called? An we answered that it was like an interior voice, but that we didn’t hear it with the ears, nor did we hear ourselves called by name. It is a JOY. (3) There are three calls. The first is a very little joy. The second is somewhat greater. At the third we become very excited and feel great happiness. And then she comes. “She went in haste to the Mountain”, Ch.4 pg. 72 I am going to insert here what was written in the early times of the apparitions by Father Ramón María Andreu S. J . an exceptional witness of the Garabandal events. It is to be pointed out that the calls occurred only when the Virgin was going to come, and never when it was simply a visit with the Angel. Father Andreu reported: “The phenomenon of the calls or interior touches from which the ecstasies arose happened to the four girls in the following way. They would say that there were always three calls. These could occur at the same time when they were together; they could occur at the same time when they were separated; they could occur at a time which was not the same even if they were together; they could occur to all four, to just one, or to several of them. The word call was originated by the girls themselves who talked like this: Today the Virgin did not "call" me. Today she "called" me. I have already had one "call" or two . . . It is not easy to describe the nature of the calls. The girls said they were like a joy from within, a clear and definite joy that was always present. It was as if the Virgin had said in the first call, Jacinta! and in the second, Jacinta, come! and in the third, Jacinta, run, run, run! But all this without audible words. The children hid the calls; and if they were not asked, or if they did not spontaneously mention them in some cases, they would not have been noticed. “She went in haste to the Mountain”, Ch.4 pg. 73
FEBRUARY 5 TO 19, 1968: CONCHITA'S SECOND TRIP TO ROME The Vatican covered the expenses of Conchita's second visit to Rome again with her mother and Fr. Luna, complete discretion being then asked to Conchita. The visionary again went to the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to be questioned but, this time, no longer by Cardinal Ottaviani, it was Cardinal Seper who based his faulty opinion on the advice of a Commission Bishop, who we now know did not launch a legitimate investigation. Facts and testimonies were withheld from Rome, from his own priests, doctors,and the Civil Police ! We hardly know anything more about the new encounter: Conchita, in fact, was even more discreet about this second trip than about the first. The archives of Fr. Luna, now deceased, will someday doubtless be of great use to us to know, at last, the nature of the conversations that took place then between the visionary and the Church authorities. It will a fortiori be the same for what the Archives of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith are preserving about this matter. [From 'Garabandal' Book, page 215] When I spoke to Conchita about meetings in the Vatican, we had a discussion about Pope Benedict. She told me she only met him when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, obviously not as Pope Benedict at that time. This led to his interest in the apparitions.
Pope Benedict XVI & Garabandal Pope Benedict XVI knows all about Garabandal , and been very receptive to learning more about it. Not only has he met and interviewed Conchita, ( When I personally spoke to Conchita about the meeting in the Vatican 1968 , she told me she only met him when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, not as Pope Benedict.) He has all the latest investigation papers, eyewitness testimonies of the miracles, etc. performed through the intercession of Our Lady of Garabandal, sent to him by the well known promoter the late Fr. Francis Benac, S.J. He has also read the Garabandal book “ O Children Listen to Me “ Cardinal Ratzinger became the Prefect (head) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on November 25, 1981,the Vatican department in charge of protecting the sacred deposit of the faith handed on from the apostles. Considering how close he was with Pope John Paul II, who was a vocal supporter of Garabandal, him meeting Conchita, reading up on the subject, it’s no surprise to me, that he is a believer too. The reason I say this is I have it on good authority that he has conveyed his belief to a Vatican priest ,who is also a Canon Lawyer (who wishes to remain nameless ). According to journalist John L. Allen Jr.'s 2005 biography entitled: 'Pope Benedict XVI: A Biography of Joseph Ratzinger' (pages 118-119 ) his interest in Garabandal began long before becoming Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It actually began when he was a professor of theology at the Gustav Siewerth Haus Academy, located in Germany's Black Forest. Every summer he gave a course in dogmatic exegesis at the private academy from 1970 thru 1979. It is said that he knew of and took the Garabandal apparitions seriously even then. Author John Allen, Jr. confirmed this from several of Joseph Ratzinger's former graduate students. Monsignor Juan Antonio del Val, in addition to giving permission for the movie made by BBC, made a personal investigation for several years about the Apparitions of Garabandal and is one of the witnesses on the video, “Garabandal, the Eyewitnesses,” produced by Michael Tubberty and published in more that thirty languages by Monsignor Roman Danylak, titular Bishop of Nyssa, Rome, Italy. (January 24, 2000). 1989 Monsignor del Val finally opens the Second Commission (with the support of Rome) testifies that the findings of the investigation of the Apparitions of the Most Holy Virgin Mary in Garabandal were sent to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; more specifically, to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. ( This led to Pope Benedict XVI confirming belief in Garabandal).
My latest interview from 2-2-2021 with Carol Kelso from " Being Catholic Media",in the UK (A last minute change of venue means you get to see my office/ Packer room. https://www.beingcatholicmedia.org/...jqiX0KCWeNOBmKCVo7c9elRvlnVrqyBZOTO9vEtVZxWaw
I want to wish a most Happy & Blessed 72nd Birthday today to Conchita ! Having the privilege of knowing her and a being able to use her a moral and spiritual compass all these years is one my greatest blessings. Her example of humility, grace, spiritual wisdom, and sacrifice , is an example for all of us to follow and emulate. May God continue to bless her, and I ask you pray for her intentions today, thank you.
Humility "What God loves above all is humility. What displeases Him above all is pride." https://ourlady.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Humility.pdf Conchita & Humility For a time, when she was younger, while she was living in Fatima many years ago, she went daily to an older priest’s residence to volunteer as a cleaning lady. As on other occasions, she went there using the name of Maria, in order not to be recognized. However, one day someone recognized her and immediately all the resident priests knew that the woman who swept the floors of their residence was Conchita of Garabandal. From then on, nothing was the same. Conchita told me that when the priests discovered who she was, they changed the way they treated her. She said she was sorry that they had found out who she was because she felt better serving those elderly priests anonymously. Reminds me very much of Saint Bernadette. "The Blessed Virgin used me like a broom. What do you do with a broom when you have finished sweeping? You put it back in its place, behind the door!"
"LIVE THE MESSAGES !" 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." (Star on the Mountain, p. 118 ) “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 what is most important, maintaining your spiritual life, (Confession, penance ,mass, communion, the rosary, the Morning Offering, etc.) and she said : " I surround myself with good people, pray and don't worry " . ( Sounds like she took the advice of her friend Padre Pio ) When asked the question, “What is the most important thing we must do? She said: “Keep the Commandments,” This sums up the way she lives her life today. People who think that she lives it waiting for the Miracle are mistaken. She does not. Her life is anchored in our Catholic beliefs. Conchita has said to me, “I don’t know how anyone gets through the joys and trials of life without prayer.” Many years ago when I started promoting the apparitions, while having a conversation with Conchita, she asked me " Do you do the rosary every day? " I said " well, ...not every day, 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 every day, waiting to be used, USE IT !
Football galore! Thanks for emphasizing the dedication of Joey, Glenn. He was so committed and you've followed him in that regard. I can remember the very first time I went to a Garabandal promotion in Manlius, NY in the 1980s. One of the leaders of the prayer group I attended, Jodi Clifford, gave a moving presentation. For a time my family's incredible trip to Medjugorje eclipsed interest in Garabandal, but I have to admit the clarity of Garabandal 's message has won the day! Great interview! Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us!
Feb.9 2014 Today I remember the passing of my Aunt, Angelina Glass. She was the reason I am involved in the Garabandal apostolate. I first heard about Garabandal through my Aunt who lived in Lindenhurst, NY and was in the same Parish as Joey Lomangino (Our Lady of Perpetual Help). She was one of the first believers to have Joey over to her house to do a talk about Garabandal and also a chance to see and venerate the medal Joey had that was kissed by the Blessed Mother. The reason I was there as a 13 year old was I had a bone disease in my legs. I listened to Joey and kissed the medal. Two weeks later, after another x-ray, astonished doctors, said the disease was completely gone ! 20 years later, a friend Peter asked me to go to a talk by some blind guy in Lindenhurst, who had a link to the Blessed Mother and Padre Pio. I figured , My family always had a devotion to Mary and Padre Pio, so why not ? Well to my surprise I walked in and see this blind guy ( Joey ) and I'm shocked because I remember seeing him 20 years earlier ! He's got a face you can't forget . After the meeting , I offered to help out making rosaries, and doing mailings of books &leaflets,and the video ( ,and later the DVD ). After spending time at the NY Center with Joey, he saw I was not a shy person ,lol, so he asked me to be the Public Relations Director and the rest you probably know. I kindly ask for your prayers today for her ,for I would not be here today if it were not for her. She lived to be 92 ! ((her last birthday below) God bless her.
THE WARNING AND MIRACLE INTERVIEWS WITH THE SEERS Reprinted with kind permission from GARABANDAL International October-December 2004 Compiled by the staff of GARABANDAL https://ourlady.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/The-Warning-and-Miracle-Seers.pdf
