Conchita’s letter sent to Joey Lomangino on May 28, 1965: ( Message given to her from Mary ) "The world is always carrying on the same way, if not worse. Few paid attention to the Message (the first one, October 18, 1961). My Son will have to give another one, and this will be the last one. After June 18 (1965) and before the Miracle, there will come a "disaster" from heaven, it will be an "Aviso" for the world to amend its ways. If, with this trial and the Miracle, Humanity does not change, the Chastisement will fall on us and the end of the times will also come. The "disaster," as she told me, is horrible, the kind we deserve. The Blessed Virgin also told me that we must not grieve over the material sufferings of the "chastisement" that we ourselves will have brought about because of our sins committed against her Son. These are the last Avisos (warnings), and we must derive benefit from them. She told me again that the world believes there is a Heaven and a hell, but we do not think that we will have to go to the one or the other. Humanity thinks only about the present life (. . .)" “GARABANDAL” by Jacques Serre, page 186
Mary confirms a piece of the “True Cross” “On March 17th, 1962, Mary Loli gave the Vision several articles to kiss, among others a reliquary belonging to the Marques de Santa Maria and his wife, who are fortunate enough to have been present during a great many of the visionaries' mystical phenomena. The reliquary contained what was thought to be a splinter of the True Cross, but there were doubts as to its authenticity. The Vision (Mary) confirmed that it had belonged to the True Cross.” “The apparitions of GARABANDAL” BY : F. SANCHEZ-VENTURA Y PASCUAL Chapter 7, page 94
Michael Hottinger interview by Dr. Robert Moynihan, May 23,2024 Michael Hottinger is from the Garabandal Pilgrim Center https://www.youtube.com/live/LFI13D2tbSo
Girls bodies were rigid during ecstasy! Witness Pepe Diaz: “ I touched them many times…protecting them from the many people who wanted to lay hands on them, not with bad intentions, but with the crushing and avalanche of people…that was when I felt something very extraordinary, so extraordinary that it didn’t seem like flesh, like a human person; it seemed , let’s say, like block, something rigid…I don’t know…it very difficult to explain”. “Garabandal:Message of Hope” by Fr. Luis Saaverdra, pg 127
TODAY IN GARABANDAL HISTORY: MAY 31, 1962: A MOST SIGNIFICANT MARIAN INVOCATION On this Feast, then, of the Ascension of the Lord, but also of Mary as Queen, the visionaries altered the traditional Santanderinian invocation of "Our Lady Truly Appeared ("Bien aparecida"), Queen and Mother of the Mountain." Instead they addressed her as "Our Lady Truly Appeared, Queen and Sovereign of Everything Created, pray for us." This invocation, celebrating Mary's unparalleled participation in the Kingship of her Son, was in fact the perfect echo of the patristic thought, that had already (1954) allowed Pope Pius XII to attribute this new title to the Blessed Virgin (Encyclical Letter 1955 'Ad Coeli Reginam'), the successor of St. Peter relying abundantly on the very rich doctrine ad hoc contained in the Divine Revelation (Holy Scriptures and Apostolic Tradition). From 'Garabandal' Book,by J. Serre, page 133
June is the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Jesus actually appeared to visionary Jacinta Gonzalez at the end of June ,before the Blessed Mother started to appear to all the girls at Garabandal in July. Twelve Promises of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary Jesus gives these twelve promises for those who are devoted to His Sacred Heart. 1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life. 2. I will establish peace in their families. 3. I will console them in all their troubles. 4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death. 5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings. 6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy. 7. Tepid souls shall become fervent. 8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection. 9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored. 10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts. 11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced. 12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.
The Vision of the Sacred Heart, Interview with Father Benac On December 23, 1978, Jacinta was interviewed by the Jesuit missionary Father Francisco Benac at his home in California. Here are some excerpts from this conversation: Father Benac: I have read some articles in which you report that you have seen the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Please tell me how it all happened. Jacinta: I remember that this happened on a day in which the four of us climbed a little higher above the zone of the "calleja", that is, above where the Angel had appeared to us for the first time. No one, a girl from our village, followed us on that day too. Suddenly, the other three fell into ecstasy and the Angel came. At that moment I was behind, and I saw them in ecstasy, and I said, "But I see nothing." Suddenly I saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus that impressed me greatly. He did not tell me, however, His gaze came to the deepest place in my heart. Father Benac: What impressed you most? Jacinta: His eyes, all his appearance, his eyes that arrived well inside my heart in an inexplicable way. Father Benac: What did you think at that moment? Jacinta: Oh, Father, this vision of the Heart of Jesus has been etched for ever, though I have never seen Him again. Whenever I remember His vision, I feel that infinite Love that came to my heart that day. Reprinted in "Garabandal Journal" , May-June 2004
Dr. Ricardo Puncernau, Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Ricardo Puncernau was [at the time] the Vice-president of the Spanish Society of Sophrology and Psychosomatic Medicine, and the President of the Spanish Association for Parapsychological Research. "I have taken into consideration, pondered, and carefully observed [the events], and have reached the following conclusion: There has never existed nor does there exist any acting cause for what is happening in Garabandal other than the Most Holy Virgin." “I am obliged as a Christian to strictly tell the truth, without adornment, at least in the essence of the narration. “ Barcelona, December 1974. Dr. Ricardo Puncernau.
Hi Glenn, How was this martyr's name initially "brought into the mix"? Did Our Lady of Garabandal explicitly reveal the martyr's name to Conchita at the same time the date of the future Miracle was provided? Or is this an association eventually made by Conchita, after she herself consulted a (Traditional Roman Rite) liturgical calendar? Thanks!
On a day in September of 1963, some French people were invited to eat dinner with Conchita in a house near the girl's home. She was devouring pastries with the healthy appetite of girls of her age. Someone jokingly asked her about the sacrifices and penance mentioned in the message. Conchita accepted the joke in good humor and laughed. But suddenly she became quiet and seemed to concentrate; her face lit up; and with her hands joined on her chest, she began to speak: “The Miracle will be on the feastday of a young martyr of the Eucharist, a boy who carried Communion to persecuted Christians. His companions, on seeing him pass by, wanted to force him to stay and take part in their games. Infuriated by his resistance, they ended up hurling stones at him until he was left almost dead. Later a Christian soldier came, who recognized him and carried him in his arms.” One of those present exclaimed: Oh, that's St. Tarcisius!» Conchita, without saying a word, as if she hadn't heard, turned back to her pastries. After dinner ended and Conchita had left, those at the table exchanged their impressions. The oldest in the group concluded: It seems that Conchita saw this scene in an ecstasy, but without understanding what martyr it was. I don't think she even knows his name. (L'Etoile dans la Montagne) “ She Went in Haste to the Mountain” Book 3,Chapter 7, pg 146 The problem is that St. Tatcisius feast day is August 15, and we know the Miracle is in April.
UNTANGLED ROSARIES Another interesting miraculous phenomenon was the returning of rosaries. Now that people started to believe the Blessed Mother was actually appearing at Garabandal, they came in the hundreds, and thousands,they would bring their rosaries and medals to be kissed by her. They were all piled on a table for the girls to offer up to her. Entangled when presented by the girls to be venerated by the Blessed Mother, rosaries, medals, and multitude of objects would incredibly untangle smoothly when being returned to their owners. Even without any pre-established order. The Garabandal visionaries also never errored in returning each object to its proper owner, and never actually had to look for the owner, Mary led them to the owner while gazing upward at her. This story is mentioned in these books “ Garabandal”, by J. Serre, pages 50-54 “She went in haste to the Mountain” Book 1, pages 76-80
Glenn, could you explain when Conchita stated that the date of the miracle is between April 8th and 16th?
"On August 10, 1971, while talking to a group of Americans, Conchita offered this revealing information: “It will take place on or between the eighth and sixteenth of March, April or May. It will not happen in February or June.” –“Conchita’s Diary”
Levitation over a bridge “ I know of many cases of levitation that took place at Garabandal. One case was photographed, and its copy on slides has been spread throughout the entire world. It is interesting to note that the photographer noticed the actual phenomenon only after the film was developed. Another levitation took place at the very small bridge — now gone — which was in front of the church. On that day, the brook that it crossed was full. The four girls, in ecstasy, were holding arms. The bridge was not wide enough to permit the passage of the four girls abreast, which is what they did nevertheless; one or two of them consequently had to pass outside of the bridge on the water, without, however getting their feet wet. “Memoirs of a Spanish Country Priest” by Father José Ramon Garcia de la Riva, CHAPTER XIX “ Levitations” pg. 45
Why these girls of Garabandal were chosen Jesus said:” I praise You, Oh Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed then to little ones.” (Matt. 11:25) Conchita 's Grandfather Serafin, in 1947 he was the mayor of the village, had the idea that every child, in commemoration of his or her First Holy Communion would plant a pine tree on the heights above the village as a symbol for his or her life. Of those planted, nine survived and grew into massive trees, at the place to which the Virgin Mary referred saying: "God loves this place very much. This place is sacred." I have confirmed that Garabandal has a history of doing a nightly Rosary for hundreds of years ! It’s no wonder why “God loves this place very much, this place is sacred !” This humble, remote part of the world, has not been tarnished by the greed and selfishness of this world, and its villagers still reflect that, as the girls did in 1961. “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God”
Serafín González comments on his sister Conchita’s ecstasy “For me, all of the apparitions were important and impressive, but the one that impressed me most, although it is not of great importance, was once when we went up to the Pines at night. There were three or four of us. Conchita was in ecstasy and when leaving the Pines, she knelt down and went on her knees all the way to where the first apparitions had occurred. I thought that her knees would be destroyed. I went down with a lantern, and I could see where her knees landed. Sometimes she hit her knee against an edge that should have cut her. I said to myself, “The Blessed Virgin should leave us in peace, I can’t deal with this. She is going to destroy her knees on these rocks.” The ecstasy ended, and I went to look at her knees. They were clean; there were no marks, not even a single bruise. I thought to myself, “Wow! We have to do what we are told.” The Blessed Virgin must have placed her hands underneath Conchita’s knees, because if not, it was impossible.”
Miguel González, Conchita's brother I knew my sister well and I knew she was telling the truth. The things that occurred during the apparitions were incredible and everything amazed me so much that I remember it all as if it were yesterday. I was deeply impacted when I witnessed an apparition for the first time, because I heard the girls pray the Rosary, saw them climb to the pine trees, and come back down backwards. I was really nervous the first time I witnessed it because I had never seen something like that and I didn’t really understand much of what was happening. For example, when they would shine a strong light in Conchita’s eyes or pinch her, I could see how she didn’t react. The doctors tried to lift Conchita from the ground but they couldn’t. From July 18, 1961 until early October, I witnessed the ecstasies every day. There was either one, two or three visits from the Virgin Mary between eight o’clock in the evening and five or six in the morning. After that year, I was only in Garabandal at Christmas time and the summer, because I had to return to work. From left to right Miguel, Aniceto, Conchita, and Serafín, with their mother Aniceta in the middle of the photograph, 1965.
