WHAT IS GARABANDAL?: RAMON AND LUIS ANDREU, PRIESTS

Sunday, June 17, 2007

RAMON AND LUIS ANDREU, PRIESTS

Fr. Ramon Andreu on right

The brothers Luis Maria and Ramon Maria Andreu Rodamilans were among the four hundred or so spectators who attended the second ecstasy of tears, on July 29, 1961.
Both are Jesuits and doctors of Theology. Luis himself was then professor of Theology in the Major Scholasticate of Ona (Burgos) and Ramon, a preacher of retreats and Spiritual Exercises.
During the first visit they made to the village, they were simply drawn there out of curiosity, led there by friends, the Fontaneda family, very well known in Spain for their brand of biscuits ("galletas").
Father Ramon Maria Andreu immediately took down a substantial amount of notes about Jacinta's and Mari-Loli's ecstasies. First he thought that this was a case of hypnotism, until a very disturbing "sign" was given him: the instantaneous realization of a thought he had just formulated . . .: "Let one of these children come to herself and the others remain in ecstasy." This is exactly what happened.
Mari-Loli immediately recovered her normal state and turned slightly towards Fr. Ramon to look at him before falling again into ecstasy . . .!
We shall see later how the involvement of the Andreu family at Garabandal took an absolutely extraordinary turn.
[Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, page 72.]

Yes, the thoughts of many were read by Our Lady at Garabandal and transmitted to the girls to tell the people involved. This made most of them believers! As it says in the Gospel: "The thoughts of many hearts will be revealed to thee" (Luke 2:35)

Fr. Ramon wrote a lot about the events at Garabandal. I hope to post some of his work here in the future.

The children of Fatima had priests from elsewhere to support them too, even though the local pastor didn't believe in Our Lady's apparitions there. He even held the three seers from receiving their First Holy Communion, thinking they were liars. Lucia was held back for a year and Francesco and Jacinta made theirs shortly before they died. They suffered a lot because of this rejection.

Roman Catholic Deacon

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UPDATE: THE CHURCH"S POSITION ON GARABANDAL

The magazine "Garabandal Journal" has updated some information regarding the village of Garabandal, the current Bishop and Pastor.
For many years, while never being condemned, the Garabandal events were under a dark cloud as some of the first bishops (but not all) opposed the events. But the tide started to change with Bishop Juan Antonio del Val Gallo (1971-1991). While he at first did not believe in the apparitions he took a more open position. In 1981, he became a believer and during his reign, he lifted the ban on priests going up to the village and allowed them to celebrate Mass in the village church with the permission of the village pastor. The next bishop, Jose Vilaplana Blasco, was a non-believer, but left in place the positive changes made by Bishop del Val. In 2006, he was transferred to another diocese in southern Spain and Archbishop of Oviedo, Carlos Osoro Sierra, was made Apostolic Administrator of Santander. The Archbishop, building on the positive measures taken by Bishop Del Val, allowed priests visiting Garabandal to celebrate Mass in the village church even if the pastor was not there (he ministered to a number of other villages and was not always in Garabandal). The Archbishop also gave visiting priests faculties to hear confessions.
In 2007, Ed Kelly from the United States, wrote to the Archbishop requesting the current status of Garabandal and received a letter from the prelate, under his own stationary and signed by him dated May 7, 2007, in which he said: "I respect the apparitions and have known of authentic conversions. In light of these events, how can we not always feel the need to open our heart to our mother Mary to tell her that we need her protection, help, spirit, desire, hope and love! I encourage you to continue maintaining this devotion to our Mother."
In 2011, two 50th anniversaries were celebrated in Garabandal (1) for the first appearance of St. Michael on June 18, 1961, and (2) the first vision of Our Lady on July 2, 1961. The celebrations were conducted under the auspices of the Santander Diocese represented by the village pastor Fr. Rolando Cabeza (also dean of the area). During the celebrations, another ban was lifted when Fr. Cabeza, spoke of the apparitions from the pulpit, and read the two formal Messages of Our Lady at Garabandal.
On May 6, 2012, current Bishop of Santander, Vecente Jimenez Zamora (installed in 2007) celebrated a Mass in Garabandal in commemoration of the completion of a restoration project of the village church. In a refreshments period after Mass, he was open and most cordial with all the villagers and visitors. On May1, 2013, the Bishop again celebrated Mass in the village church of Garabandal and prior to the Mass, kissed a crucifix belonging to villager David Toribio that was kissed by the Blessed Virgin at Garabandal. We don't know if the Bishop knew that but we suspect he did.
Bishop Jimenez's Masses in Garabandal were firsts, since no Bishop of Santander had ever said Mass in the village church from the time the apparitions began in 1961.
Deacon John

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WHAT IS GARABANDAL?

Sunday, June 17, 2007

RAMON AND LUIS ANDREU, PRIESTS

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