Reprinted with permission from GARABANDAL
JOURNAL September-October 2003
Excerpted from Los MILAGROS o FAVORES
DE NUESTRA MADRE DE GARABANDAL by Maria Josefa Villa de Gallego
My name is Paco. I'm from Lamasón
12 kilometers from Garabandal and this is what happened to me when I was
12 years old.
On July 25, 1961, I went with a
friend of mine from Garabandal to see the ecstasies that had been going
on for one month. I was very impressed by what I saw. The girls running
forward and backward, on their knees, etc., etc., was completely inexplicable
to me. On September 10, 1961, I returned to Garabandal where I had a great
experience.
After walking more than five hours
on mountain trails, I arrived at Garabandal at 2:00 P.M. I went to visit
some girls that were known to our family, and I was very surprised to find
Mari Loli and Jacinta there. One of the girls was painting her fingernails,
something that girls love to do. When I asked about the apparitions, Loli
told me that there would be one at 5:00 P.M. at the Pines.
We arrived at the Pines with plenty
of time to spare, and we sat next to the pine tree which today has the
image of the Virgin. I was amazed when at five o'clock, our conversation
stopped in mid sentence, as Loli, called by Our Lady, fell into ecstasy.
I saw her lips moving as she spoke
silently making gestures with her hands. I particularly noticed how Loli,
opening and closing her hands, dragged her fingers against the grass as
tears rolled down her cheeks. Being so close, I could see everything right
down to the last detail. Then when Loli came out of her ecstasy, she told
us the Virgin had reprimanded her for having painted her fingernails and
that was why she rubbed them against the ground, to try to remove the paint
and make the Virgin happy.
Today, after 36 years I have never forgotten this great experience that impressed me so much as well as many others that to this day remain vivid in my mind.
—Signed: Paco Barcelona, June 28, 1997
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