Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 3

Vision in the Afternoon

As a result of this dialog that Ceferino, María Dolores’ father, helped us to obtain with the three girls, we stayed until the afternoon. We were passing through different roads for a little while until I arrived and sat down on a rock near Mari Cruz’s house. It was about 8 at night.

Jacinta and Loli were on the balcony for more than an hour—it was a balcony in Loli’s grandmother’s house. A similar thing happened in Mari Cruz’s house, where they found the girl after some time had passed.

Around 8 Fr. Valentín passed next to me and said to me: “Let’s go and ask Mari Cruz if she is going to see the Virgin.”

We entered the house and I recorded the questions and answers in my notebook that day:

P. “Is the Virgin coming?”

“Yes, sir.”

“When?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where is she going to appear?”

“Wherever I am.”

Fr. Valentín commented to me: “If the child says that she will see the Virgin, it is because she will, you can be sure.”

At this, at 8:30pm Fr. Rafael Fontaneda Pérez came to me and said: “Father, the children who are upstairs (Jacinta and Loli) have already had two calls, that’s what a woman who was with them said.”

As he was telling me this, Mari Cruz passed in front of us with her mother on the road where the other girls were within a house. Her mother said: “But, if no one is there,” and she answered: “Yes, the two girls are playing on the balcony.”

At about four meters from the door of the house, they fell to the ground on their knees and went into ecstasy. The vision began like this. I describe it according to Fr. Luís’ narration, who combined his observations with those of Fr. Cipriano Abad and Fr. Andrés Pardo. I will add clarifying notes to the events I witnessed, and also in the first line of this trance.

July 31st. “8:55 in the afternoon. They fell to their knees at three, their vision fixed. Mari Cruz was hurt. They murmured something. Loli had tension in her neck, she murmured words. Mari Cruz laughed. Jacinta, immobile, began to blink. It ended.”

“They offered the rosaries, took out the medals, and offered them. They offered them one by one. Mari Cruz did it insistently. Mari Cruz spoke, but indistinguishably. Tears. Jacinta blessed herself. Mari Cruz swallowed saliva with difficulty. (It seemed to be because she had gum in her mouth when the Vision surprised her). Loli almost fell. Jacinta took great breaths and Loli almost fell.”

M. Cruz—“Yes.”

(Jacinta laughed and kissed. Loli kissed something. Mari Cruz kissed also. Jacinta lifted her hand).

L. “What?”—she said—“Yes, good.”

They blessed themselves. They prayed the Act of Contrition, beating their chests. They prayed the Hail Mary, mumbling it. They said: “Yes.” (laughing).

“Huh?”

“I’m going already (they blessed themselves, first Loli who was in the back and then the others).”

M.C.: “For the glory of the good adventuress, the Virgin Mary.”

“Yes, the Catechism.”

“10 or 11.”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t know.” (Loli’s eyes were completely filled with tears, then fell to her chin. Jacinta didn’t cry. Mari Cruz recited the Our Father and laughed).

“Ask for a stone.” (They offer crosses and rosaries).

“You kissed the rosary before, now it’s…”

“You have kissed it?” (They offer the rosaries again, Jacinta prays a Hail Mary).

Note: “What happened here, I have witnessed many times. After the girls offer the Virgin something to kiss, I frequently hear the girls say that it’s already been kissed. They say it in conversation with the Vision. The Vision tells the girls this, and then they repeat it like a question, or half-question, half admiration, as if they leave it: “Then, you’ve already kissed it? Oh! This as well? Well, kiss it again.”

J: “Where is Loli? Loli, Loli, are you sick?” [Jacinta puts her arm on Loli’s neck (which is behind her). After, Mari Cruz does this. Loli seems immobile. After putting her arm on the neck, none of these three girls put their gaze back to where they’d had it. They formed a triangle. They talked to Loli. They laughed].

“Did I pray in a hurry before?” (They made the sign of the cross).

J. “Throw it.” (She said this when Mari Cruz put her arm on the shoulder. Mari Cruz laughed. They talked: Loli cried with her face like stone while Jacinta said: “Pity, pity”).

Note: In this trance, Loli stayed for a long time, around 20 minutes, separated from everyone, like two of her companions. Her face was like stone in its immobility and pallor, but it wasn’t rigid, like a statue. The other two, although still in the trance, indicated that they were worried about Loli, who was behind them, where they couldn’t see her. Suddenly, they guessed the oscillations were coming from her body, like any other movement. The impression was Loli that was abstracted and elevated in these long minutes. She followed a more elevated rhythm.

“One.”

“Yes.”

“Oh, what a thing, it gives me pain!”

“Why are you telling us?”

“Why?”

M.C.: “I should throw it away?” (She throws a piece of gum away).

“Why? Eat it, no, I’ve never eaten it.”

J. “Is gum bad? This is why Mari Cruz threw it away.”

Note: All that refers to the gum in this scene had a previous explanation for me when I asked what the Virgin told them. It was like this: in a particular moment during the ecstasy the Virgin told them to throw away their gum. The girls chew gum when someone from the village or one of the people who comes up to the village gives it to them. The reason the Vision asked them to throw away the gum was not because it was bad, but because it might choke them, like on this occasion. When I asked the girls whether the Virgin had told them not to eat anymore gum, they responded no.

“Don’t go, wait a little.”

“Many, four. I don’t know, I don’t remember, but about four (we conjectured that this could refer to the four priests who spoke with Mari Cruz in her house).

“We have to ask forgiveness, yes.”

J. “The priests told me that they were going to America to see if many people would convert.”

Note: This refers to Fr. Cipriano Abad who went to Venezuela, and Fr. Ramón Andreu who was going to go to Nicaragua).

“She has to kiss one.”

“We were in Ceferino’s house the whole afternoon.”

Note: This allusion is to the interview we had in Ceferino’s house, who was Loli’s father. It lasted quite a while.

(They took stones after feeling for them. They offered them to the Virgin).

“See, I found stones.”

M.C.: “It’s large! Look how large it is! (M.C. put the stone in her pocket).

“Should we pray the Litany?”

(Loli tries the crown on. She offers it, then does not move. M.C. prays Hail Marys. They’re illuminated by the lanterns, but remain impassive. They hit their chests).

M.C.: “Nobody, you already know. Well, as it is called without.”

“Oh, of course! Her name is Amalia.” (She waves goodbye).

“It’s just that I like to see them.” (They are immobile for a time).

“Yes, you have to be there a lot.”

“Little one, little one,” (She gives kisses).

“Don’t go yet, wait a little while, just a little while.”

“It seems that you’ve been—but it couldn’t be a lie.”

“You’re—a total of 42.”

“Yes, stay to complete the 42.”

“The Station, a rosary (they tell them). (Loli offers something. The three girls offer it. They bless themselves. Mari Cruz and Jacinta finish having the Vision. It’s 9:27 in the afternoon. Loli continues, and it seems that she is praying with great fervor. The others are not worried about her, they look at her smiling. All of them pray a Station in a loud voice at Mari Cruz’s and Jacinta’s prompting. There were hundreds of people there. Loli didn’t hear, and remained impassive).

L. “Why—I don’t know.”

(9:40pm—Jacinta has another Vision. Mari Cruz leads the Station alone. Loli blesses herself. Mari Cruz is not having a Vision. The village prays the Creed in a loud voice. The girls do not hear it, nor do they accompany the village, except for Mari Cruz, who leads an Our Father to the Guardian Angel after the Creed. Mari Cruz says that the girls have to go to the Church: it seems that she was indicating that they should go alone even though it is difficult when the village wants to accompany them to pray the rosary in the Church. Mari Cruz also indicates that she will wait for the others. Jacinta shows the rosary. Loli makes the sign of the cross. Loli shows a cross. Jacinta raises her hand toward the Vision. Loli offers the rosary and medals; she gives them one by one. Jacinta offers the rosary).

J. “Why? Mari Cruz doesn’t have it?” (Jacinta blesses herself. Kisses. She places her cheeks to be kissed).

J: “Yes, where? Why? No. Yes, yes. Why not? I want you to see (maybe the sentence was: and I think that you laugh). Mari Cruz, why not? I don’t want to.”

Jacinta blesses herself. Jacinta, without seeing Loli who was behind her, puts her arm on her shoulder when Loli looked like she might fall. Loli had an impressive aspect; she seemed like an alabaster statue. Jacinta grabbed Loli and held onto her tightly. Loli cried, and her tears fell, reaching her chin. Loli was shaken from the fall. Jacinta held her again. Loli’s mother sat in front of her and dried the tears on her daughter’s chin. The two girls breathed and Jacinta says: “She fell.” Loli shook again after another fall and Jacinta held her and exclaimed again.

J: “Loli, Loli.” (They talk, but we didn’t understand what they said). “Yes” (she offers the rosary). “Yes, she fell. Loli, is it over already. I’m going to fall. Oh! I’m afraid! Loli, Loli, Loli.”

L: “What?”

J: “Has it left you already? It’s left you already? Loli, Loli, has it passed?” (At 10:03 Jacinta jumps toward Loli. Together, they continue in the same attitude toward the Vision. Loli wavered, almost losing her balance.

J: “You, Loli. Has it passed? (Loli is impassive, she doesn’t blink. At 10:06 Loli breathes).

J: “Loli, come here, didn’t you tell me that it had passed?” (Loli cries, the tears falling to her chin. She breathes deeply).

J: “Why did you give Loli something so bad?” (At 10:08 Loli wavered, almost falling).

J: “Loli, has it passed? Huh? Loli, why are you feeling bad? Did you fall?”

L: “No.” (She stands up).

Note: The shakes, or oscillations that Loli experienced, worried Jacinta. Jacinta, though she was behind Loli and had her back to her friend, came next to Loli a little after she took note of the oscillations. She could put her arm on Loli’s shoulder even though it made her fall forwards. She called Loli several times and asked her if it had passed, looking at the Vision the whole time.

(At 10:10, they attempted to fall. They breathed deeply together three times. Jacinta placed her cheeks, kissed, and they breathed).

“Don’t go.”

In all this time Mari Cruz, who was sitting on the ground when she awoke, was in wonderment at the state of the other two girls. At 10:11, Loli moved her head. At 10:12 her head began to shake, but she controlled the trembling.

”

L: “Already.”

“Don’t go.”

At 10:13 the girls stopped having the vision at the same time. They went toward the Church and they all prayed the Rosary there. The girls led it, making mistakes that were typical of their age. Fr. Luís’ document was used until this point, completed by him with the records of Fr. Cipriano Abad and Fr. Andrés Pardo.

In Fr. Luís’ notebook #2, you’ll find a brief description of the state of the girls after the facts about this vision.

“Loli’s face lit up, and it contrasted with the dark street. Jacinta and Mari Cruz seem normal, but their faces have a lot of color. The people make them sit during the rosary. They say it with pronunciation mistakes typical for their age. At the end of the mysteries they kneel. They begin the Litanies. They join hands. They pray in Castellano, and when they finish the Litanies they cross their arms. They finish the rosary at 10:38.