Has
the Blessed Virgin Mary really appeared in Spain? What are the urgent messages
reportedly given from the world? Is there a scientific explanation for
the incredible events that took place there?Has
the Blessed Virgin Mary really appeared in Spain? What are the urgent messages
reportedly given from the world? Is there a scientific explanation for
the incredible events that took place there?
Jacinta Gonzales (12), Mari Cruz Gonzales (11), and Conchita Gonzales (12)
were playing on the outskirts of the village when they heard a sound like
thunder. Suddenly, there stood before them a dazzling angel. He said nothing
and quickly disappeared. Pale and visibly shaken, the girls ran to
the village church and the apparition soon became known. Over the next
twelve days the angel appeared to them several more times and then on July
1, he spoke for the first time announcing that on the following day the
Blessed Virgin would appear to them as Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Our Lady Appears to the Children
News
spread quickly. On July 2, many priests were among the numerous visitors
who joined the villagers to witness the great event. At about 6:00 o'clock
p.m., the children were headed for the spot where they had been seeing
the angel when the Blessed Virgin appeared with an angel on each side.
They recognized one of the angels as the one who had been appearing to
them (later identified as St. Michael the Archangel). Above the Virgin
was a large eye that the children thought to be the eye of God. They spoke
openly and familiarly with their Heavenly Mother and said the rosary in
Her presence. Over the next year and a half she would appear hundreds of
times frequently appearing several times in a single day. Occasionally
She was accompanied by the Infant Jesus whom She carried in her arms.
The four girls talked with the Blessed Virgin with great simplicity. They talked about their everyday life, about working in the fields, and about getting bronzed by the sun. A charming and almost disarming spontaneity marked the apparitions. In her Diary, Conchita mentions that the angel and Our Lady often smiled and laughed at their childish remarks. She says several times that the Blessed Virgin kissed them. On a few occasions when Mary came with the Infant Jesus, She allowed them to take Him in their arms. They also did simple things to amuse and please Him, such as hiding pebbles in their sleeves and in the tresses of their hair. Once, Our Lady took the crown of small golden stars from Her head and permitted the children to hold it in their hands. What is the meaning of this? Perhaps it teaches us the value of childlike simplicity and unquestioning faith.
Later, Our Lady gave the girls the two formal messages (seeOur Lady's Message of Garabandal) and other messages. Many of the messages delivered by Our Lady were of a purely private nature. Some were words of enlightenment or comfort directed to people who came to the village with personal problems. Others were statements that revealed the hidden thoughts or actions of visitors, some of whom were doubting priests. The Blessed Virgin, on March 19, 1964, told Conchita that the great American apostle of Garabandal, Joey Lomangino, would recover his eyesight on the day of the great Miracle which will be worked by God at Garabandal.
Interior Calls Precede Ecstatic
Raptures
The
girls' visions were preceded by three interior calls (Ilamadas)
each becoming stronger than the last. After the third call they would run
(A) to the sunken lane where the visions first began and crashing to their
knees on the jagged rocks, enter into a heavenly rapture. Their heads were
thrown back, the pupils of their eyes dilated and their faces imbued with
an angelic countenance. They were insensitive to pin pricks, burns, physical
contact or bright spotlights shone directly into their eyes (B). Their
weight factor changed so much that two grown men had great difficulty in
lifting one 12-year-old girl and yet they could lift each other with the
greatest of ease to offer a kiss to the Virgin (C).
Ecstatic Walks and Falls Defy
Natural Laws
As the apparitions continued new phenomenon began
to occur. With their heads thrown back and unable to see where they were
going, the girls in ecstasy would march arm in arm (A), without the slightest
difficulty either frontwards or backwards over very hazardous terrain and
sometimes at a pace so rapid that onlookers running at full speed were
unable to keep up with them. During these ecstatic "flights" they were
able to stop instantly defying the laws of physics as the following crowd,
like a speeding car trying to come to a screeching halt, would go right
past them. Afterwards, the visionaries were neither out of breath nor perspiring
and their pulse rates were normal.
The girls also began to make spectacular falls in ecstasy either collectively or individually. Sometimes they would fall straight backwards, stiff as a board, without bending any part of the body or using the hands to cushion the fall. The loud thud made when they hit the ground frightened onlookers but the visionaries were never hurt. From this prone position, they would rise without pushing themselves up in any way (B). In collective falls they were described by witnesses as "beautiful sculptures" and their clothing was never immodestly ruffled or indecorous.
A Jesuit Priest also Sees Our
Lady and Preview of Great Miracle
One of the many priests to witness the events
of Garabandal was Fr. Luis Andreu
a young Jesuit theology professor from Ona, Spain. On the night of August
8, 1961, while observing the visionaries in ecstasy, Fr. Luis cried out,
"MIRACLE, MIRACLE, MIRACLE, MIRACLE". On the drive home with friends
later that night and into the next morning he exclaimed, "What a wonderful
present the Virgin has given me! How lucky to have a mother like that in
heaven....Today is the happiest day of my life!" Shortly after pronouncing
these words he lowered his head and passed from this life to the next.
In a subsequent vision, the Virgin told the seers that Fr. Luis had seen
Her and a preview of the
great Miracle and that he died of
joy.
Our Lady Kisses Religious Objects
When
witnesses heard that Our Lady wanted to kiss religious objects, many rosaries,
medals, crucifixes and wedding rings were given to the seers to present
to the Virgin (A). Often, the objects were given to the visionaries in
such a way that they couldn't possibly know to whom each belonged, the
articles having either been placed on a table set aside for this purpose
when the seers were not present or being handed to them by persons other
than the rightful owners. Yet, in ecstasy, guided by Our Lady, they never
made a mistake in returning wedding rings (B) and other articles to the
right person. On the Virgin's last visit to Garabandal, She told Conchita,
"Through the kiss
I have bestowed on these objects my Son
will perform prodigies..." This promise has been fulfilled in numerous
reported cures from around the world.
Miracle of the Visible Communion 
To confirm the supernatural character of the
events, St. Michael told Conchita that on a certain date, the invisible
Communion he had been giving her would become visible on her tongue. So,
in the early morning hours of July 19, 1962, she left her house in ecstasy,
turned a corner, and fell to her knees in an adjacent street. As the crowd
pressed around her, she put out her tongue and those just inches away affirmed
that it was bare and the mouth empty. Then, faster than the eye could see,
a brilliant white Host appeared on her tongue. An amateur with a movie
camera a few feet away and only flashlight illumination was able to film
the last few moments of the miracle. However, the greatest proof of all
will be the "extremely great" Miracle for the world which Conchita speaks
of in her Diary.
The Great Future Miracle
The "extremely great" Miracle which Conchita
mentions in her Diary is more fully discussed in the notes she gave
Francisco Sanchez-Ventura, author of The Apparition of Garabandal:
"I am the only one to whom the Blessed Virgin spoke of the Miracle. She
forbade me to say what it will consist of. I can't announce the date either
until eight days before it is due to occur. What I can reveal is that it
will coincide with an event in the Church and with the feast of a saint,
martyr of the Eucharist; that it will take place at 8:30 on a Thursday
evening; that it will be visible to all those who are in the village and
surrounding mountains, that the sick who are present will be cured and
the incredulous will believe. It will be the greatest miracle that Jesus
will have performed for the world. There won't be the slightest doubt that
it comes from God and that it is for the good of mankind. A sign of the
Miracle, which it will be possible to film or televise, will remain forever
at the pines.
On September 14, 1965, Conchita said: "The sign that will remain forever at the pines is something we will be able to photograph, televise and see, but not touch. It will be evident that it is not a thing of this world but from God." At another time, concerning the great Miracle, she added that, "it would last about 15 minutes." On August 10, 1971, while talking to a group of Americans, she 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." Eight days in advance of the Miracle Conchita will give notice to the world about its coming. Prior to the eight day notice, God will send a Warning to the entire world to purify it for the great Miracle.
The Warning
In a letter dated June 2, 1965, Conchita writes:
"The Blessed Virgin told me on the first of January that a Warning would
be given before the Miracle so that the world might amend itself. This
Warning, like the Chastisement
(another prophesied event explained below), is a very fearful thing for
the good as well as for the wicked. It will draw the good closer to God
and it will warn the wicked that the end of time is coming and that these
are the last warnings. There is more to it than this, but it can't be said
by letter. No one can stop it from happening. It is certain, although I
know nothing concerning the day or the date."
In another apparition, the year of the Warning was made known to Mari Loli but she has felt impelled not to reveal it.
The Chastisement
Our Lady showed Conchita, Mari Loli and Jacinta
in July of 1962, a vision of the impending Chastisement. The visionaries
screamed in terror upon seeing this vision and begged Our Lady for God
to spare the children. The Blessed Virgin told the girls the Chastisement
was conditional on whether or not mankind would heed Her Messages given
during the apparitions.
The Chastisement is mentioned
only briefly by Conchita in her Diary. She describes it as something
"very, very great, in keeping with what we deserve." But she advises, "if
the world changes," the Chastisement can be "averted." Conchita elaborated
on this event in a note to Francisco Sanchez-Ventura, "The Chastisement
is conditional and depends on whether or not mankind heeds the Messages
of the Blessed Virgin and the Miracle. If it should take place, I know
what it will consist of because the Blessed Virgin told me about it, but
I am not permitted to say what it is. Moreover, I have seen the Chastisement.
I can assure you that if it comes, it is worse than being enveloped in
fire, worse than having fire above and beneath you. I do not know how much
time will elapse between the Miracle and the Chastisement."
The Blind Apostle and the Spread
of the Message Around the World
At the age of 16, Brooklyn born Joseph
Lomangino was blinded and had his
olfactory nerve severed in a freak accident. He journeyed through life
sightless and without a sense of smell until 1963 when his faculty for
smelling was miraculously restored through the intercession of Padre
Pio at San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
While there, Joey asked the famed stigmatist if Our Lady was truly appearing
in Spain. When the Padre said yes, Joey went to Garabandal, was deeply
impressed and decided to do what he could to tell others about it. He began
with local talks in his hometown of Lindenhurst, New York. Other people
came to help him. The local talks became lectures and spread to other parts
of the country and overseas. An organization was established which would
fulfil Our Lady's 1964 prophecy to Conchita: "The house of charity that
he (Joey) will establish in New York will bring great glory to God." Garabandal
promoters in other countries aligned themselves with Joey and the New York
headquarters. Now the Message
of Garabandalis being spread in a
great number of countries on all five continents.
The Visionaries Today
Three of the four visionaries have married Americans
and live in the United States. They lead exemplary Christian lives totally
dedicated to their vocations as wives and mothers. Conchita has four children,
Mari Loli three and Jacinta one. Mari Cruz is also married, living in Spain
and has four children.
GARABANDAL - A Unique Event
Garabandal is unique in the history of Marian
apparitions for a number of reasons:
1) The
number of apparitions, somewhere in the vicinity of 2,000 is amazing.
2) The
appearance and extensive use of a new means of heavenly communication (not
usually encountered along with apparitions having a public message) namely
the locution (an interior voice), sets Garabandal apart from Lourdes and
Fatima.
3) The
span of time over which the apparitions (June 18, 1961 to November 13,
1965) and locutions (June 19, 1961 to February 13, 1966) occurred, is exceptional.
4) The
things announced for the future and yet to come - the Warning, the great
Miracle and the permanent sign at the pines, and the conditional
Chastisement - are most unusual.
5) The
variety of the sites where the visions took place - in the church, at the
door of the church, in homes on various streets of the village, at the
pines, in the cemetery - is astonishing.
6) The
time at which they took place, literally at every hour of the day and night,
is quite uncommon.
7) The
abundance of secondary or supporting mystical phenomena, such as the miracle
of the visible Host, the Ilamadas or calls and the ecstatic marches and
falls, is almost overwhelming.
8) The
trials of the visionaries, the difficulties and opposition that have accompanied
the events almost continually are so unusual that there does not seem to
be any natural explanation for them.
9) The
manner in which Garabandal has managed to overcome all obstacles and become
more and more widely known and accepted is another of the almost unbelievable
happenings connected with it.
10) Finally,
and most important of all, this spreading of the Garabandal Message has
been accompanied everywhere with an amazing explosion of grace manifested
in cures, conversions and tremendous growth in love of God, of neighbor,
of the Blessed Virgin and of the Eucharist on the part of both those who
disseminate the Message and those who heed it.
These are what are known
as the "fruits of Garabandal.".
