Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 26

(Burgos) (Letter) March 16, 1962

“The things the soldier from Garabandal told me, above all the sacrifices that the girls make, going all winter to pray the rosary at five in the morning, and that one day after Loli, Conchita, and Jacinta had an ecstasy at 5 in the morning they told their parents that the Virgin had told them to go to a feast that was being celebrated in a Hermitage, a six hour walk each way through the mountains. Their mothers did not let them go, but when the girls insisted, crying, their mothers consented and when they arrived there at 11 in the morning they heard Mass and returned, reaching the village at 6 in the afternoon. Mari Cruz, to whom the Virgin appears the least, went and returned with bare feet even though the people who accompanied her said to wear shoes since the roads were so bad. The girls continued to walk with bare feet until they reached Garabandal, where the four girls fell into ecstasy.

“The Prior of Carmel is the most excited. He told me the other day that he happened to find a book about the apparitions of Fatima and he said that in the last apparition that the Virgin appeared to the children she wore a white dress and a blue mantle, and that it coincided with the details that the girls from Garabandal gave about the Virgin.”

Man uses Garabandal Warning Prophecy to Argue against Church Closing

(Mat 24:12) And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold.

Click here for the full story:
CATHOLICS PAN CHURCH CLOSINGS

Steve Babinchak, a daily communicant with one eye on the eternal and the other on this troubled world, strays into territory far beyond nostalgia as he argues against the impending closure of churches in the Diocese of Allentown.

''Everybody in an instant in the whole world will see their soul, see their sin, and a lot of people are going to come back to the church,'' the Schuylkill County man said, summarizing the prophecy of Our Lady of Garabandal -- in which four Spanish children claimed in the 1960s to have seen images of the Virgin Mary, who said God would give people one last chance at redemption by allowing them to glimpse the state of their souls. "With such an episode imminent, the diocese can't justify closing churches," said Babinchak, "imagining floods of repentant sinners searching for places of refuge and finding them shuttered."

Hat tip to Tribulation Times

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 25

(Letter) San Sebastián—May 16, 1962

Reverend Fr. Ramón Andreu,

The fourth letter caused a lot of happiness. On the 12th I was speaking with your brother (Luís) for awhile and among other things he said to do what you were asking. I’ll tell you the other things when you arrange to come here, which God-willing, will be soon. Regards from my parents and siblings and a loving salutation from me,

María Dolores Mazón

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 24

San Sebastián—March 5, 1962

Part of a letter to Fr. Andreu

“I don’t have anything to tell about the apparitions because they continue the same. I didn’t see the Virgin on Thursday or Friday, but I saw all of the other days. I will also say that I went to Santa Lucía to see my brother Miguel and I went to León, to Mr. Valle’s house. I had an apparition in his house on Saturday. I had it when the Virgin said I would, at 9:30 on that day. There were a few people on Sunday and I also had an apparition that day at 11:30. That day there were many people but since the apparition was so late most of them had left, but some stayed to pray the rosary and they said that they went to Mr. Valle’s house where a girl was at the door on the same floor and I gave the crucifix to be kissed to someone who was in bed. I did other things that you already know and I didn’t realize.

Well, I don’t have anything more to write, just a salutation from my family and particularly from me. I won’t forget you before the Virgin and in my little prayers.

Conchita González

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 23

March 4, 1962

San Sebastián de Garabandal

Dear Fr. Andreu,

Now I’m very happy. Since the 18th I’ve seen the Most Holy Virgin almost every day. Yesterday, Saturday, I saw her at four. Now Mr. Emilio wants to bring us to a high school. My father won’t let me go. The Virgin says that if we go, we’ll still see her there. Since my father won’t let me go, I don’t know if I’ll stay here alone. I think the others will go. The Virgin says to obey my parents, and my father won’t let me go, and there is still no sign so that everyone will believe in the Virgin.

I’ll say goodbye only saying that I love you.

Jacinta González

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 22

Literal Copy—Letter from Loli to Fr. Ramón—January 22, 1962

Dear Fr. Ramón María Andreu,

Taking advantage of the occasion on this night at 12:30 I found myself in my father’s kitchen, and the two were waiting, talking with the Virgin. Within a half hour of 9:30 I saw twice and in other apparitions there was one person there with us but it seems that at 1 we found ourselves alone. I’ll also tell you that on the 19^th Faito and the two older children were here, and Andrés, the student. When you come and it seems that it will be three years for sure since you’ve come and I won’t know you. Well, I’m going to say goodbye. My father says to send you many regards and to ask you to come here soon.

A loving salutation from—

María Dolores Mazón González

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 21

Literal Copy of a Letter from Mari Cruz to Fr. Ramón—January 2, 1962

Long Live Christ the King

Dear Father in Our Lord Jesus Christ, We received your letter and it made me very happy because when Conchita and Loli told me that they had written to Fr. Andreu and it made me sad because I didn’t write to you when you came and you can’t be here. You have to come to the field with my mother. Jacinta and I will see the Virgin on the 16th—I would like you to come.

We go to pray the rosary in the cuadro every day at 6 in the morning as the Virgin ordered.

I want you to come; I would really like to see you.

With much love,

María Cruz González

From Tribulation Times: An Interesting Article

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/january.asp?version=63

January 25, 2008

(1Th 5:20) Despise not prophecies.

BOOKLET: The Warning by Father Philip Bebie, C.P.

FROM THE MAILBAG VIA Ben J. Verdina: Update: The Church's Position on Our Lady of Garabandal

For sometime, certain erroneous information has circulated the Internet claiming that the Church has ruled against the mystical occurrences in Garabandal, Spain which occurred during the 1960's.

Satan never sleeps.

A few years ago we published a piece to the group entitled (#218) Garabandal: The Church's Position. Therein we explained that the mystical occurrences at Garabandal have yet-to-be-approved by the Church as worthy of belief, meaning that they remain in the neutral category --- neither approved nor disapproved.

Recently in a personal letter to Mr. Edward Kelly, Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra not only reinforced the fact that Garabandal remains in the yet-to-be-approved category, but encouraged the Faithful to continue maintaining devotion to Our Lady of Garabandal. An image of the letter, written in Spanish on the Archbishop's official stationery and signed by him together with an English translation, was published in the Special Edition of Garabandal Journal (1) (received January, 2008).

The entire English transcript is presented below for your discernment.

Response From the Archbishop of Oviedo, Carlos Osoro Sierra, Current Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Santander, to Edward Kelly of the United States Who Wrote to Him Regarding the Apparitions of Garabandal May 7, 2007

Dear Edward,

Acknowledging receipt of your kind letter presenting to me your assessment of the events at Garabandal, I want you to know that I am open to all information and to every consideration about Garabandal, and I want to continue in this manner, as long as the Holy Father sees fit for me to be Apostolic Administrator, what my brothers in the episcopacy have done regarding the subject in question. What I have done now is authorize priests to go to Garabandal and celebrate Mass there at whatever hour they desire, and to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation to as many people who desire it there.

I am sure that the next bishop will advance the studies of the Garabandal events so they may be examined more deeply with the results being sent to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome.

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, faith, hope and love! I encourage you to continue maintaining this devotion to our Mother.

If your are interested in speaking with me, don't hesitate to ask for an audience at the Santander bishopric through the Vicar General. There they can take down all your information and set the date and hour for the visit.

Hoping to count on your continued prayers and cooperation, I extend to you my most cordial greeting and give you my blessing.

+ Carlos, Archbishop of Oviedo Apostolic Administrator of Santander

Footnotes (1) Garabandal Journal, P.O. Box 1796, St. Cloud, Minnesota USA 56302-1796

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 20

Literal Copy of Loli’s Letter—Received November 5, 1961

Dear Father, Four letters to tell you that I want you to come soon and to say hello and tell you some things. I’ll also tell you that on Thursday the 26th the Virgin will return to talk with me and then from that time, she’ll continue seeing me every day, more than once on some days.

My father already told me that he had been in Santander speaking with you and that he had said something. Today we got up to pray the rosary at 6 in the morning and the Virgin called us right after we finished the rosary and I send remembrances to everyone and one for you from Loli.

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 19

The Girls’ Letters—October

Literal Copy of Conchita’s Note—

“Fr. Andreu still hasn’t said why the Most Holy Virgin doesn’t leave me.”

Father, now the apparition has ended and there was an apparition at 6 in the morning and I don’t have to write that when you return dressed like a country person. Give my regards to Faito and Carimina and all of the family. Conchita says goodbye to you in the name of God the Father.

Yesterday there was an apparition at 8 in the morning and I also had one yesterday while I was with the sheep. I was on my knees and alone. Well, I won’t write anything more. I’m going to pick up the dolls and move them because it’s Sunday.

If you come soon then you can know what they said, that you were going to come here.

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 18

These are narrations that I have which come from witnesses at this scene. There are many more that I couldn’t see, and these represent a small minority. With these facts and from conversations with other people, I can reconstruct the scene like this:

Seers: Jacinta and María Dolores

Place: The Pines

Time: Around noon

1st—Around one o’clock they went up to the Pines—they had already had at least one call.

2nd—They had an ecstasy. They spoke. What they said was recorded into a recorder.

3rd—When they returned to the normal state, the people questioned them and recorded the interview. Some of the questions were asked to confuse them.

4th—They entered into ecstasy again—now with their backs to the Pines—but the Vision was next to the Pines. As a result the girls arched to see the Virgin. The ecstasy surprised them with the microphone in their hands.

5th—After this ecstasy they offered the microphone to the Virgin so she could speak.

6th—They returned.

7th—They reproduced what had been recorded on the tape.

8th—When the tape ended the words “No, I won’t speak” were heard. The people present heard.

9th—The girls heard the words and identified the Virgin’s voice.

10th—Here is where the part corresponding to the narrations I possess ends. Each one of them was given with great emotion. According to some with whom I spoke, they had made a personal covenant stipulating that they would not speak about what happened. They couldn’t keep the secret and the news was shared.

There is an appendix that corresponds to a reduced group of people from whom I haven’t had a direct account apart from a telephone conference that my brother Fr. Luís had 30 hours before his death. In a note I took about this conference I wrote as a summary: ‘They heard it twice.”

The second time it was heard was not in the Pines but in the house of one of the other girls. I believe I remember that they said that it was in Conchita’s house.

They played the tape there with very few people so that the girls could hear what her companions had said. When the tape was finishing, it happened just as it had in the Pines. The voice spoke to say: “No, I won’t speak.” The girl also identified this voice as the Virgin’s. The number of witnesses to this last scene is very small. I don’t have a narration from anyone.

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 17

Narration of María Elisa Salceda

María Elisa Salceda, 12 years old, from Aguilar de Campoo, said this:

The girls gave rosaries and medals belonging to some people who were there to be kissed.

In this vision they made some movements as though they were putting on crowns and passing them to each other. They also spoke of a girl who had been in Santander, saying that she had cut her hair and that she was uglier.

“All of the girls’ words were recorded by a tape recorder. When this vision ended, the man with the recorder told them to tell what they had seen.”

“The girls answered that they’d seen the Virgin, and that she wore a white dress and a blue mantle.”

“They were describing it when they had the second vision. In the second vision the girls said: ‘We have an apparatus that records words so we can hear them later.’”

“A little later the girls said: ‘You speak—why won’t you speak?’ And then the second vision ended.”

“The man with the megaphone said that we would hear what had been recorded on the tape. When the tape finished, when they said: ‘Why don’t you speak?’ There was a voice that all of us heard, which answered: ‘No, I won’t speak.’”

“The girls were very happy and they said: ‘She spoke to us.’ They played the tape for the second time, but we didn’t hear the voice saying: ‘No, I won’t speak,’ again.”

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 16

Mari-Loli

Narration of María del Rosario Salceda

María de Rosario Salceda, 17 years old, from Aguilar de Campoo, writes like this:

“At one in the afternoon the two girls went up to the Pines, where, facing the Pines, they began to pray the Rosary.”


After a few moments, they had the first vision. During this vision the girls gave rosaries and medals to be kissed and they spoke with the Virgin, saying that one of the girls had been in Santander where they had cut her braids and they said that she was very ugly with short hair.


All of these facts were taken in on the recorder. The owner of this apparatus was there. When the vision ended, the owner told them: ‘Now you tell us what you’ve seen.’ They said that they’d seen the Virgin and that she wore a white dress and a blue mantle.
“While they were telling us this they had the second vision; they had this vision with their backs to the Pines.”

“In the Vision they said that there was an apparatus with which their words were being recorded and they answered and later we heard them on the tape.”

“Showing the microphone they said to the Virgin: ‘You speak, go on, speak—why won’t you speak?’ These were the last words that we heard when the dialogue ended.”


“When the second vision ended, the owner of the megaphone told them: ‘Now we’ll hear some of your words from this conversation.’ He played the megaphone, and when the tape was ending, we heard the girls’ voices at the end of the dialogue. They said: ‘Why won’t you speak?’ And a voice answered: ‘No, I won’t speak.’”

“The girls were very happy and hugging, said: ‘She spoke to us, it’s Her.’ And when they played the recording for the second time, we didn’t hear the voice again saying: ‘No, I won’t speak.’”

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 15

Narration of Mr. José Salceda Calderón

Mr. José Salceda Calderón, 52 years old, neighbor of Aguilar de Campoo, says:

“That he was an eyewitness of the ecstasies of Jacinta and Loli.”

“We were about 50 people, and it was about two in the afternoon at the Pines. Among the spectators was a married couple of about 55 years old who had a megaphone that was working during the ecstasy.”

“Since I was very close to the girls, I could hear them tell the Virgin that Conchita had returned from Santander and that she was uglier, as though the Virgin had told them that she wasn’t ugly.”

Then they repeated: ‘Well, ugly no, but darker and they’ve cut her hair.” This went on for close to a half an hour during which they revealed scapulars and stones. When the ecstasy ended the owner asked them that if they could say what they had seen. They answered that they saw the Virgin and the Angel. When they were asked what the Virgin was wearing, they answered that it was a blue mantle and a white dress. When they were asked whether the angel carried a sword, they said no.

“Following this they had a second ecstasy, where they were found with their backs to the Pines, but they were still looking at the trees because their heads were completely lifted. Mari Loli had the microphone from the time the first ecstasy ended and she directed it at the Virgin and said to her: ‘Some men have come and they have brought a ‘recorder’ to record what we say because they don’t believe. Take it, speak, give them their test, speak.’”

“When she said this, she lifted her arm while holding the microphone and insisting that the Virgin speak.”

“The second ecstasy ended like this and the man continued playing the apparatus so that it recorded the march on the tape.”

“The retransmission was very easy and we heard it well. The tape ended like this. With the last words there was a voice that said: ‘No, I won’t speak.’”

“When we heard this, we all jumped for joy and yelled, saying: ‘This is a miracle.’ The way these words were spoken and the sweetness of them, so distinct, could only have come from the Virgin’s lips.”

“The owner of the recorder jumped saying: ‘I will send this to the Pope,’ and he rewinded it again to hear, but we didn’t hear the sweet words again. Everything was jumbled.”

“I forgot to say that when the Virgin spoke, the girls yelled and hugged crazily.”

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 14

Narration of Mr. Luís Toribio Millan

Mr. Luís Toribio Millan, 38 years old, from Aguilar de Campoo, who has a lesion in his blood, dictated the following:

“I was in the Pines, I believe around August 5th, watching the girls who had apparitions when the following happened: I had been carried up to the Pines on peoples’ shoulders, since I have a blood lesion. We met some men who had a recorder, and they recorded the apparition with it.”

“The girls returned to the normal state. There were two girls, one was Loli and the other was Jacinta. We spoke with them and asked them what they had seen. They answered us that they had seen the Virgin and that she had a blue mantle, a Child in her arms, and that they’d also seen the Archangel St. Michael. These questions were made by various people who were present. There were more than fifty people present.”

“The girls had a microphone in their hands, because a man wanted to have some recordings of the girls. Then they spoke about something and then they fell into ecstasy with the microphone in their hands.”

“They stayed in ecstasy, sitting down, and then they knelt with their backs to the Pines. One of them lifted the microphone so the Virgin could speak into it, while she said that the girls had recorded the voice as gossip, saying that they wanted her to speak. ‘Speak, say something.’ They repeated it many times: ‘Come on, why don’t you speak, speak.’ I believe that this is the last thing they said before leaving the ecstasy.”

As it continued, she turned around in front of the megaphone so that the people who were present could hear what had been recorded. We heard the whole conversation with a little bit of difficulty and we arrived at the end. Then we heard a voice that did not belong to any of the girls, which said: “No, I won’t speak.”

The voice was refined, a woman’s voice, not a child’s voice, very clear, very sweet and melodious. It was completely different from the girls’ voices.

“All of the people reacted and some hugged. The reaction was enormous. There was someone at my side who was all white, like a cadaver.”

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 13

Narration of Mr. Agustín Piney

Mr. Agustín Piney Martinez, 40 years old, from Santillana del Mar, dictated the following:

“This day, as on others on which I had gone to Garabandal, the girls were normal, playing. Suddenly a girl with whom I was with said: ‘Mom, I’m going, she’s calling me already.’”

“They went up to the pines normal with us behind them. The girls did not have the vision immediately. They knelt and then prayed the Rosary while staying in the Vision.”

“A man who was there had a megaphone and immediately turned it on. He put the microphone near their mouths, first one then the other.”

“Only Jacinta and Loli were there when we saw them. Upon seeing the apparatus they asked what it was. Then the man who had the megaphone explained to them that it recorded voices, and then you could hear it again.”

“Then he told them: ‘Do you want to say what you’ve seen?’ And he gave the microphone to Loli so the girl could say that she had seen the Virgin, and the Child, and that they’d let her wear their crowns. She said things that corresponded to her actions. The gestures of putting on the crown, of it sinking more on the heads of the girls who were younger than on the older girls.”

“When they were explaining with the microphone in Loli’s hand they stayed in ecstasy, but they had returned around, and they stayed seated with their backs to the Pines where they had seen the Virgin before and they lifted their heads, since they saw the Virgin above their heads.”

“Then the girl said to the Virgin: ‘There are some men here who are gossiping into a microphone, and I took it. Then we’re going to say it. Here, there are other men who don’t believe, so speak so that the men will hear.’ And she lifted to microphone so that her arm was completely extended. Then the other, Jacinta said: ‘No, she doesn’t want to speak with you, give it to me.’”

“Then Loli passed the microphone to Jacinta, who gave it back since she didn’t want to speak either. They argued about whether they should lift the microphone to the Virgin. Finally, they put it in Loli’s hands. Then the girl didn’t want to speak when she saw the Virgin and begged emotionally: ‘Come on, speak, speak so the men hear.’ She said this emotionally several times, making us more interested because we heard them. She was satisfied, she told us.”

“When the girl said: ‘Nothing, speak, speak,’ they stayed in the normal state and Loli had a microphone in her hand, which she seemed surprised to still have in her hand.”

“The two girls returned to the microphone and seemed very curious.”

“The man insisted again that they speak again and the woman who was with him said: ‘It’s impossible because we can’t record any more.’ The tape had stopped while the girl was saying: ‘Come on, speak, speak,’ etc.”

The man said: ‘Well now I’ll rewind it so everyone can hear everything that was said.’ We waited awhile until the man said: ‘Well, let’s see, we’re going to begin. Pay attention, and please be quiet.’”

“Everyone behaved like they were in Mass and no one spoke a word, not even in a whisper. It began to play and the girls commented: ‘This was when the Virgin told us this, and this was when the Virgin told us that, etc.’”

“When the voice of the girl said: ‘Come on, speak’—the recording ended. And, how should I explain this so you understand me better? I remember very well.”

“The man made a movement since he knew the tape had ended and immediately we heard a voice unlike any I’d heard before in my life. It said: ‘No, I won’t speak.’ This voice didn’t sound anything like the girls’ voices. I had never heard a similar voice. It isn’t anything like any voice I know. I had never heard this voice; it was so sweet and very clear.”

“When the voice finished, the exclamation was unanimous, spontaneous. There were about 90 people there. We jumped with joy, and a woman hugged me, crying and yelling: ‘A miracle, a miracle!’ Many people said the same thing. I was stunned. They told me that I was very pale.”

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 12

"They cut her hair"

Narration of Mr. Jerónimo Díez Serrano

Mr. Jerónimo Díez Serrano, 38 years old, from Cabezón de Liébana, a province of Santander, said the following:

“I heard a little. I was in the Pines. I saw that one man put a microphone up to the girls. Some people said not to go near so they wouldn’t be bothered. There were two girls.”

“When the girls finished speaking, they told the man that they heard some gossip and that the two girls laughed when they heard the things they had talked about with the Virgin. One said to the other: ‘You said it, etc.’ And then they began to say that they had seen her with a blue mantle and a crown and with the Child. They said the same thing to each other.

“A spectator said: ‘Have you seen the angel with a sword?’ The girls said: ‘No, this is a lie, we haven’t seen any sword.’ At that moment the Virgin called the girls again and took them with the microphone still in hand. A spectator said: ‘Take it from her!’ They tried but they couldn’t do it.”

“They stayed with their backs to the Pines, and they said to one another: ‘You say to speak,’ they said it many times until it ended.”

“And it was then that they played the tape and I heard the conversation and heard some words that they said: ‘Conchita has come, and she’s ugly!’ They cut her hair, and her skin was dark, she’d been to the beach, etc.”

“In these moments I separated a little and then returned and they were still talking on the tape. It arrived at the end when she said: ‘No, I won’t speak.’ The voice was smooth. To me, it seemed to be a woman’s voice, refined, and it made me wonder to hear the girls say to one another: ‘Oh! We have spoken to the Virgin.’ This is what made me wonder the most.”

“What voice left when the tape ended.”

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 11

Padre Valentin and the four seers.

Narration of Mr. Guadencio Cepeda Palacios

Mr. Guadencio Cepeda Palacios, 33 years old, is from Torquemada, a province of Palencia, etc. He dictated the following:

“In the Pines, the girls said that they’d seen the Virgin. The man that carried the recorder gave the girls the microphone and when he surprised them, they were sitting with their backs to the Pines, with their heads raised.

The girls continued holding the microphone in their hands and they asked the Virgin to speak so that those present would believe, or if she didn’t want to speak, that she’d let the Child speak. This thing happened to the girls.

Then we rewinded the recording to hear the girls’ whole conversation.

We were listening, and the whole conversation continued. When the tape ended, and only the red of the tape was visible, the part that did not have any recording on it, we heard a melodic voice; it was smooth, refined, and it seemed to be the voice of a woman of about 40 or 45 years, but it was a sweet voice that said only: “No, I won’t speak.”

“She pronounced the syllable ‘no’ twice. When this happened the girls got up, saying that it was the Virgin’s voice. Everyone was impressed, and stood up, then fell on their knees. I had goose bumps.”

“We listened to the tape again to verify that we had heard these words, but we did not hear them again.”

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 10

9th Diary

August 4, 1961

Summary:

August 4—The recorder.

Various testimonies.

Reconstruction of the facts.

Appendix.

August 4th

The facts that belong to this day, August 4th, are taken from references given by Fr. Valentín that I added to some testimonies. It is the diary.

August 4, 1961

(It was Jacinta and María Dolores).

It lasted 33 minutes. When they arrived they fell into ecstasy and began to show rosaries and medals.

Note: All of the description that he makes in his diary and that corresponds to August 4th, it seems refers to the testimonies that I have in relation to the scene with the recorder. According to the idea that I formed on the date on which this happened, it was August 5th. Upon seeing what Fr. Valentín records in his diary for August 4th, I asked casually what I found one day. He responded to me that he could be mistaken regarding the facts that happened on the day before. This could be a mistake in reference to the date, but it wasn’t a mistake with regard to the facts.

Since right now I don’t have the elements needed to obtain absolute certainty about the exact date and whether it was Friday the 4th or Saturday the 5th, it is more interesting to pass on the facts only.

Supposing that the day of the megaphone seems to be the day that Loli and Jacinta went up to the Pines, where they fell into ecstasy and proceeded in their usual way, giving medals and rosaries to be kissed. It was like this that they mimicked receiving the crown and kissing the Child.

“They acted like they were going to wear the crown and kiss the Child. Then they fell on their knees backwards, first Jacinta and then María Dolores. After 30 minutes they knelt again. Jacinta told the Virgin about Conchita:

“She already came and they cut her braids and she’s very beautiful like you; she’s dark because she went to the beach.”

Note: During the few days that Conchita was in Santander they cut her braids. This fact serves to localize the time or period that corresponds with some photographs. There is an incident of a card in the beauty shop where they cut Conchita’s braids. Since I don’t have sufficient facts to reconstruct it, I prefer to indicate only what I can make clear about the existence of this fact for someone who wants to be informed about it.

The Recorder

“After 24 minutes María Dolores returned to the normal state and looked at Jacinta, laughing, and suddenly fell into ecstasy and put on the Child’s crown. After 30 minutes the ecstasy left her. There was a man, the Director of an Insane Asylum in Salamanca, who had a recorder and he questioned them, asking what they had seen and they answered that they’d seen Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the Angel. While standing like that, talking into the microphone, they fell into ecstasy again and María Dolores showed the microphone, holding it as high as she could and said: “Go on, talk so the people will believe.” And she asked: “Why not? Talk, go on, yes, talk.”

Note: This scene of the recorder was written in the first phase by Fr. Valentín. He is not an eyewitness but he wrote this fact down; it was told to him by those who had seen it. As a result, in order to clarify these things better or to verify them, I’m going to transcribe the testimonies of seven witnesses:

To be continued . . .

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 9

August 3rd

I’m taking the report of this day from Fr. Valentín Marichalar’s diary. I’ve added some clarifications. I was in Valladolid where the Religious Adoration Exercises were taking place and I received a telephone call from my brother Fr. Luís, informing me of an event that had occurred for the first time: the ecstatic fall. Fr. Valentín’s diary explains it like this:

“At 1:07 Jacinta and Loli went up to the Pines. They began to pray a Station with the Virgin in front of them. They gave rosaries to be kissed. They tried on the crowns, gave kisses, and gave the rosaries to be kissed. They kissed St. Michael. “Return soon—at what time? When you call us?” It ended at 1:17.

“In the afternoon it began at 9:05. They prayed the Rosary, and at the first Our Father they fell into ecstasy and stayed like that for awhile, saying things that we didn’t understand. “Oh, come on!”—They sang to St. Michael.

“Today a strange thing happened. The girls fell backwards; Jacinta held onto her mother and Loli held onto the General Director of Security. They were like this for 10 minutes, and when they left the ecstasy they asked who had fallen. It ended at 9:40.

Note: This is the first moment in which the fall appears. The oscillations preceded it by days. Initially, the attitude of the girls was calmer. Little by little—as the days passed—the oscillations began. On this day, August 3rd, the ecstatic fall took place. The girls were unaware of their fall and position.

At this time I observed the same thing I’d observed before during the different falls and walks I’ve seen. Their posture was never incorrect nor was it immoral. It was just the opposite: on all occasions there was an extraordinary beauty and detail. Their skirts always fell in a correct position. Sometimes their parents, or the girls themselves, would pull their skirts down, but it was almost always an unnecessary precaution.

What is said about these falls can be extended to include the marches and the different meanings, which I will indicate in each case.

“They say that they have to go to pray in the Church. During the first Our Father they fall backwards on the wooden flooring of the Church. They were on their knees on the first level of the altar. They were like this for about 12 minutes, questioned by Conchita.

“Oh, she’s in her house.” (She had arrived then).

Note: In the notes written in my notebook, I have this sentence that was transmitted to me by telephone: “The day that Conchita arrived, they said during the Vision: ‘Oh, good, Conchita is coming’—By the time the Vision had ended, Conchita had arrived.

This sentence is in my notes and has an autonomous origin that agrees with the reference made by Fr. Valentín in his diary. Since I can’t take more notes from the sentences that the girls said in ecstasy, it seems that the two pieces of news refer to the same theme even though the telephone record is at the beginning and Fr. Valentín’s diary is at the end. Fr. Valentín already indicated in his diary: “They remained like this (fallen on the floorboards) for 12 minutes, questioned by Conchita.” The paragraph ends like this. In the beginning of the next one it says: “Oh, she’s in her house,” etc.

In this posture it seems that they woke up, according to the inference made in Fr. Valentín’s diary. They correspond to these two sentences like this: “Then they had arrived” and “They were arriving.”

Comments from before this had confirmed for me the impressions of those present in this moment of ecstasy, during which the girls commented on Conchita’s arrival in the minutes during which she was arriving.

“Oh, she’s in her house” (she had arrived then), after they finished saying that they had fallen. Jacinta had a small bruise on her arm.” (Elbow).

Note: Again, this lack of realization with regard to the fall. This small bruise on her arm or elbow could have come from an ecstatic fall, but it could also have come from another blow that she had received in the normal state. I make this clarification because I have seen them give enormous blows while in a trance without having a single mark. I will make mention of this another time. “After they prayed the rosary.”

Note: This rosary was prayed by the girls in the normal state and as a result Fr. Valentín could talk to them. When the girls were in a trance, they were isolated from other people in the sense that they could not establish contact with others. The only possibility that existed in this case was that the other seers who were not in ecstasy could communicate with those seeing the vision mentally, but not orally.

“I ordered them to pray as they always did on the carpet. The girls laughed and then I asked them why they were not on the carpet and they told me that the Virgin had told them that that place was Fr. Valentín’s, and that they should be on either side of him.”

Note: This carpet is one that is in the presbytery, in front of the altar, and it is not very large. When Fr. Valentín told them to go on the carpet, it was to help them stay warm in spite of the cold floor of stone and tile.

“Mari Cruz didn’t go to Mass and in the afternoon she didn’t see anything; it is the first time that this has happened. This occurred even though the night before she said that she would have one. Today Conchita comes from Santander.”

Note: It isn’t clear what is referred to with the sentence: “It’s the first time that this has happened.” It could refer to that Mari Cruz did not go to Mass, or that she didn’t see anything, or the connection between not going to Mass and not seeing anything, or it could also refer to that she’d said the night before that she’d have an apparition but didn’t have one. The hypothesis that she had an ecstasy in secret, without anyone knowing, also fits, since sometimes the girls were surprised by ecstasies when they were completely alone, and when this happened they didn’t say anything. I remember that this very thing happened to Mari Cruz. A family member surprised her when she was in a trance, completely alone in a room. She didn’t say anything about it.

Sometimes the girls’ family members and those near to them worried when they heard an announcement about the next Vision. When the girls said: “We’re going to see the Virgin today,” or also, “Tomorrow we’re going to see the Virgin,” they didn’t always have the same value. Sometimes they said it because the Virgin had said goodbye saying, “Until tomorrow,” or “until later.” Other times it was because they were accustomed to seeing her daily, so they supposed they would see her. Other times it was because they’d had the first “call.” It seldom happened that the girls had the persuasion that they were going to see the Virgin. It was seldom that they stopped seeing her after they’d had the first call. It never failed when the Virgin told them as a sure thing that she would come, but sometimes she said it as though it was probable, saying: “I’ll probably come.”