2-05b) In Waiting

At the end of Chapter II, it was shown that together with the frigid winter season, there was a restriction in the ecstasies. Each girl had her days and had to wait the Virgin's return with a proper disposition. In the letter just quoted, Mari Cruz wrote to Fr. José Ramon:

«Yes, I go to pray the rosary everyday, at 6 in the morning. The Virgin told me to pray it everyday at this time, until the 16th, when I will see her again.»

The day set aside for Loli was January 13th, and the child waited with great anticipation since she was more accustomed than the others to these favors. (I was not able to obtain any information about what occurred on that day.)

Jacinta's day was January 18th, and it was not a happy one. Doctor Ortiz, who was present, wrote down:

«After she had her ecstasy, Jacinta exclaimed, Until February 18th, I will not see her! Inconsolable, she could only repeat, I will not see her again for a month! »

On that same day, Mari Cruz and Mari Loli were unexpectedly favored, as Doctor Ortiz mentions:

«They had an ecstasy at 6 in the evening. They went to the church, and from there to the home of Mari Cruz, holding up various articles to be kissed. Praying the rosary, they went out then to the calleja, where they finished the third mystery. And afterward they went up to the Pines where they finished the rosary. The ecstasy ended about a quarter after eight.»

Conchita went long weeks awaiting her day, which was the 27th of January. [On January 3rd, Conchita wrote to a niece of Doctor Ortiz: «I won't see the Most Holy Virgin again until the 27th of January. The time seems very long to me!» And some weeks later, on January 19th, she says in another letter to the same recipient: « You tell me to pray for you . . . But every day, when I go to pray, I pray for all the sick, and in particular for you . . . You also tell me that the wait until the 27th to see the Most Holy Virgin seems long. Well, take note of this! I'm counting all the days that remain. They are so long! And now I only need 9 more.»] A week before it, on January 20th, her aunt Maximina wrote to Dr. Ortiz in Santander:

«As you know, Conchita's apparition will be on January 27th. She told me to urge you to come. She wants you to come. Perhaps during these days, she herself will write to you, although she is very negligent in this regard.»

From mid-January, the trances began again to multiply, at least for Mari Loli. Maximina writes in her letter:

«Maria Dolores sees her very much. On Wednesday I had Father José Ramón, the priest from Barro, sleeping in my home. At half past three there was a knocking on the door. I got up in a hurry and there was Loli in ecstasy. She gave me the crucifix to kiss, and afterwards gave it to the children. [Maximina was the aunt and godmother of Conchita. She had become a widow early in life, having two children from her marriage: a boy and a girl. The boy became a seminarian, and studied in Comillas (Santander).] Then she went upstairs and knelt in front of the picture of my husband. She stayed about five minutes praying for him, that he rest in peace. Afterwards she turned around on her knees and went to give the crucifix to the priest in bed to kiss. She left the room and went to give it to my father. After they left, the priest got up and went to accompany them through the village until it was over.»

What Maximina writes in her letter of January 20th concerning Loli's nocturnal visit to her home, coincides amazingly with what the priest from Barro, Fr. José Ramón reports in his Memorias. Nevertheless, he definitely situates what happened on a night in August, that is, seven months later than the date mentioned in Maximina's letter. The similarity of the reports is surprising and equally surprising is the disparity in the dates. Is it that one of the writers is mistaken, or does it refer to two different occurrences? [After having written this, I found the following in the Memorias of Fr. José Ramón: «The visit to the room where I was sleeping happened twice: the tune that I just mentioned at 3:45 in the morning; and another time equally early at 10 minutes to 4.»]

The report of Father José Ramón has particular interest because of its copious detail and because it presents Loli's visit at night to Maximina's house as an answer to something that he had requested mentally before going to bed, as a proof of the supernatural truth of those unusual phenomena.

At last, the long-awaited January 27th arrived for Conchita. She had her apparition. If it was an important one for her, we do not know. All we know are the few words that Fr. Valentin wrote down for the day (at least it is in his collection of notes pertaining to January):

«Conchita went into ecstasy in her home at 6:30 in the evening. She went out toward the church where she presented to the Vision — for kissing — the medals and rosaries that had been entrusted to her for this. Later, in the same state, she returned them to their owners without any mistakes. It ended at 8:20.»

Father Valentin then added something interesting:

«According to what I was told, since I was already in bed, Mari Loli had an apparition at 2:00 in the morning, and it ended at 2:30. Previously, while in the normal state, they had told her that there was a painter there who wanted to paint the Virgin, Following that, during the vision, the girl was heard to say, There is a painter here who wants to paint you . . . But so beautiful as you are, how can he do it!»

The painter in question was M. Calderón, well known in Santander.

After this date, the apparitions began again to be the order of the day, with the exception of Jacinta, who had to undergo a month of trial, as had been foretold to her.

«Conchita, in ecstasy, joined with Maria Dolores at the church door. There they began the rosary, and went from there to the home of Uncle Leoncio. (An old man of the village, who was unconscious and near death) They knelt down beside him and prayed, trying unsuccessfully to make him kiss the crucifix that they carried in their hands. They continued praying, and suddenly the sick man regained his consciousness and answered the prayers, something that astounded all of us. [Doctor Ortiz considered it miraculous, or close to a miracle, that the old man, so ill and in extremis, would react like this; he was actually in a coma.] The girls gave him the crucifix to kiss again, and he then kissed it. And then he said, I pray because I believe. And he lost consciousness again. With great signs of happiness, the girls got up and left.» [«Conchita and Maria Dolores were together in ecstasy for two hours. A man was there who was sick, and furthermore he was deranged, (senile) They went to the place where he was. Look, it was worth seeing how they acted with him. The disturbed man told them that he didn't want to kiss the crucifix. And as he didn't want to kiss it, they prayed a Station with him, and also six Our Fathers for all the sick. He prayed well, but they didn't make him kiss the crucifix, and the girls shed big tears. Afterwards, still in ecstasy, they went outside and went straight to the Pines. They prayed there a while, and came down, and walked once again thru the village, and went back up again. It was already 9:30 at night, completely dark, and if you could have seen where they went — they were astonishing! Afterwards they came down with great speed, and we tried to stay with them . . . but it was a race! You know how they come down, with their heads turned backwards, without seeing anything. They walked again thru the village and went to sing some songs at the home of Mari Cruz, who had gone to bed since she didn't have an apparition ...» (Maximum's letter to the Pifarré family, dated Jan. 30,1962)]