Interview with the Girls
This was taped on a recorder. The girls did not know—as can be seen through the dialogue—that they were being recorded.
Many times they responded at the same time and other times they took words from each other.
The certainty of their responses is very great.
The questions that are asked were supposed to confuse them, but this was not possible.
P—“Let’s see, who should we begin with, with the oldest, Conchita, what is your name?”
C—“Conchita.”
J—“María Concepción.”
C—“Conchita, because they call me Conchita.”
P—“Conchita, good, I’ll ask you a few things. For example: So you learn to respond well after; What do you like the most?”
C—“Of what?”
P—“Of everything.”
C—“To eat and that?”
P—“To eat, to see…”
C—“To see—the Virgin.”
P—“To see the Virgin. And do you see the Virgin many times?”
C—“Yes, since June 18th there have only been 14 days when I haven’t seen her.”
P—“Since June 18th only 14 days you haven’t seen her. And have you seen the Angel many times?”
C—“Not much.”
P—“And why do you go through the streets so quickly?”
C—“I don’t know.” (She laughs).
L—“Because she goes with the Virgin.”
P—“Do you like when people come or not?”
C—“Yes, sir.”
P—“Many people?”
C—“Yes, sir.”
J—“Yes, Father.” (Correcting her).
P—“And why do you like it?”
C—“Huh?”
P—“Why do you like when people come?”
C—“I know.”
P—“So they see you, right?”
C—(Laughs).
P—“So they see you, right?”
C—“So they will believe more.”
P—“What?”
C—“So they will believe more.”
P—“So they will believe more. And what do you believe? That many believe or few? (You have to accustom yourself to speaking strongly because after we won’t be able to).
L—“You have your—what? Many.”
P—“Oh, many believe. And those who don’t believe?”
L—“They will believe.”
P—“Who has told you this.”
L—“The Virgin.”
P—“Have you asked for a miracle, Jacinta?”
J—“Yes, Father.”
P—“What?”
J—“Yes, Father.”
P—“And what has she said? That she is going to do it or not?”
J—“Yes, she is going to, father, but we don’t know when.”
P—“But you know that she’s going to do it?”
J—“Yes, father.”
P—“Yes? She’s also told you that she’s going to do it? Huh, Loli?”
L—“Yes, father.”
C—“She has not told me.”
P—“She has not told Conchita. She hasn’t told you what she’s going to do?”
C—“Last night I said that the first time we went up to the Pines I said that she had to do a miracle, and she didn’t say anything to me.”
P—“She didn’t tell you anything? And now tell me, Jacinta, with whom you have spoken.”
J—“What?”
P—“With whom have you spoken?”
J—“What, with whom?”
P—“With whom have you spoken?”
J—“What, with whom?”
P—“Who has appeared to you?”
J—“Who has appeared to me?”
C—“The Virgin and the Child.”
J—L—“The Child and the Angel—and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.”
P—“And Our Lady of Mt. Carmel? What did the Virgin wear?”
C—“A white dress and a blue mantle.”
P—“What? A white mantle.”
J—“And the blue dress?”
L—“The blue mantle.”
P—“And—the veil?”
The three—“She didn’t wear one.”
P—“She didn’t wear one?”
L—“No, Father.”
P—“And what color is her hair? Loli?”
L—“Black.”
P—“Black?”
The three—“No color.”
L—“It’s dark brown, almost black.”
The three—“Dark brown.”
P—“And it’s curly, right?”
L—“Wavy.”
J—“Like Conchita’s hair was when she wore it down. That’s how the Virgin wore it.”
P—“Is the Virgin’s hair long or short?”
The three—“It’s long.”
P—“Where did it fall?”
C—“About—to her waist.”
L—“Like you wore yours, right, or a little longer.”
C—“To her waist.”
P—“And what is her crown like?”
The three—“It’s made of stars.”
P—“Of stars?”
The three—“Yes, Father.”
P—“But is it made of flowers, of thread?”
L—“It’s made of—I know! It’s not made of thread, the Virgin’s crown is like this, it’s very bright.”
P—“And it is closed around the crown of her head.”
The three—“No, Father.”
C—“She gives it to us.”
P—“And it is very round?”
The three—“Yes, Father.”
P—“It’s completely round? And how does she put it on your heads?” (Laughs).
The three—“Like this.”
P—“Well, how does she put it like this. If it is round, she could not place it like that.”
The three—“Oh, but it is open here.”
P—“Is it open? And what is the Child’s crown made of?”
J—“I don’t know.”
L—“The Child’s crown is not made of stars.”
P—“Is it made of stars?”
The three—“No, Father.”
P—“What is it made of?”
The three—“It is smooth.”
L—“Like what the angels in the Church wear.”
C—“The angel wears it—the angels wear it.”
The three—“The angels don’t, but the Child wears the same crown as St. Joseph, it’s like that.”
P—“Speak a little louder, girls.” (Laughs).
P—“We have to do this proof well, because if I don’t see how you speak, then we can’t record it well later.”
L—“You’re recording us now, aren’t you?”
P—“No. We’re doing a test now.”
L—“Then why are you recording this?”
P—“No, we just have the recorder in its place before we begin so that we don’t lose any time. Well—listen—are the Virgin’s feet beautiful?”
L—“We have not seen them. We have not seen them. Have you seen them?
C—“No, Father.”
P—“What color are the Virgin’s eyebrows?”
The three—“Black.”
P—“Black?”
L—“Like her hair.”
P—“Well. And what did you say to the Bishop yesterday?”
The three—“We only laughed.”
J—“He told us that she was Jewish.”
C—“I think—Jacinta, I think it was to say something bad about a Jewish woman.”
P—“And what, was it bad?”
The three—“No, Father.”
L—“Because she was born in Judah, as we were born in San Sebastián.”
P—“Oh, good. And you, Loli, would you like people to come or not?”
L—“Yes, Father.”
P—“And why?”
L—“So they will believe.”
P—“So they will believe?”
L—“That way they will believe more.”
P—“And you, Jacinta, who do you want to come the most?”
The three—“The priests—the priests.”
C—“The priests and nuns.”
P—“The priests and the nuns. And what do you feel in the days before you have an apparition?”
C—“It is like an interior voice.”
The three—“An interior voice—a happiness.”
P—“Like that.” (Laughs) “And how many times?”
The three—“Three.”
P—“Three?”
L—“Yes, Father.”
P—“How much time is there between the first and the third?”
L—“There is little time between the first and the second; the most time is between the second and the third. There is a lot of time between the second and the third.”
P—“And when you see the vision, what is the first thing you see?”
The three—“The Virgin.”
P—“The Virgin? Is she glowing?”
The three—“Yes, Father.”
L—“Yes, when the Angel and the Child come, they are not resplendent.”
C—“But when She comes alone, She is.”
P—“Jacinta, what advice has the Virgin given you?”
J—“She has advised us to be good and to pray the Rosary here.”
L—“And—prudence. Well, not prudence. She wants us to be modest.”
P—“Modest?”
Las tres—“Yes, Father.”
P—“And how much time is there between the first and the third.”
L—“There is only a little time between the first and the second, from the second the the third is the most, a lot. There is a lot between the second and the third.”
P—“And when you see the vision, what is the first thing you see?”
The three—“The Virgin.”
P—“The Virgin? Is she resplendent?”
The three—“Yes, Father.”
L—“Yes, when the Angel and the Child come they have almost no resplendence.”
C—“But when she comes alone, she does.”
“P—“Jacinta, what advice has the Virgin given you.”
J—“To be good and to pray the Rosary here.”
L—“And—prudence. Well, not prudence. She wants us to be modest.”
P—“Modest?”
The three—“Yes, Father.”
L—“We didn’t know that we were modest.”
C—“This man told us what is was to be modest.” (Laughs).
L—“And we do our best to do this.”
P—“And what else.”
C—“That we do this.”
The three—“Sacrifices.”
P—“Sacrifices? And how do you make sacrifices, if you don’t know what it is?”
L—“We know now.”
P—“And who explained it to you?”
The three—“You, you—you told me.”
P—“Good. And did she say anything about obedience?”
The three—“Yes, sir. That we should obey our parents and the priests.”
P—“Your parents and the priests?”
J—“Oh! Tell Conchita that—tell Conchita that one has to be good in Church.”
L—“She also told us that.”
C—“Tell me.”
P—“That you have to be good in Church, that you can’t talk or laugh.”
J—“Have you seen us talk?”
C—“He saw us talk? When?”
L—“In the Church?”
P—“On several occasions.”
L—“How long did this happen.”
P—“Well, with one another. Oh. We have to wait.”
L—“We are going to sing now. Now you have to come here so it will be clear. We have to wait until he arrives so he can take the rest.”
L—“Oh—make it go faster.”
P—“Oh, no. It has a normal speed, because we have to record it then.”
L—“Well until then make it go faster.”
P—“Oh. No, because it’s going in another direction. What did you do yesterday in Cossío?”
L—“I talked on the phone.”
The three—“We talked on the phone.”
P—“With whom?”
L—“We spoke with Señora Carmen, Marcelina, and other woman.”
P—“And what was the name of the man who brought this apparatus?”
The three—“Oh—I don’t remember—Matutano.”
P—“Matutano. Good.”
L—(Laughs). “Matutano.”
C—“What a name!”
P—“Listen. Who else appeared to you first.”
The three—“The Angel.”
P—“Did he have wings?”
The three—“He had pink wings, a blue mantle, a blue robe, and wings.”
L—“His hair was to here, and flipped up. Very beautiful, remember? It was more beautiful than the Virgin’s.”
P—“The Virgin didn’t look like that?”
The three—“No, the Virgin was different.”
P—“And who told you to do more?”
The three—“The Virgin.”
P—“Does the Virgin sometimes appear with other people?”
C—“Yes, with Sr. Lucía and the others.”
P—“But have you seen this? Have you seen this with the Virgin?”
J—“With the Child and the Angel.”
P—“Good. And when did you know that she appeared to Sr. Lucía?”
C—“After she told me, after she appeared to me.”
The three—“But we already know that she had appeared to her.”
P—“You already knew that she had appeared to her. But—did you know the Angel had appeared to her?”
The three—“No, sir—to whom?”
P—“To Sr. Lucía.”
The three—“The Angel appeared to her also?”
L—“The Angel also?”
P—“Now tell me, how did you find my brother’s Rosary?”
L—“The Virgin told me where it was and I went another day and found this place.”
P—“In this place?”
C—“Between two stones the Virgin had told me about.”
L—“And it was there, hidden between two stones. One was like this and the other like this. She told me to lift the stones and truthfully it was as though until then no one had lifted the stones, but we lifted them.
C—“Between two little stones. I saw it.”
J—“We brought it to Father.”
L—“Oh—go faster, it’s very slow.”