Did the Blessed Virgin Mary Appear in Garabandal?
by Arthur Policarpio
Garabandal is a small village of around 300 people located in a
ruggedly beautiful, mountaineous region of Northern Spain. In the
evening of June 18, 1961, four girls were playing in the outskirts of
the town – 11-year old Maria Cruz Gonzalez, and three 12-year-old girls
named Conchita Gonzalez, Maria Dolores Mazon, and Jacinta Gonzalez.
Notwithstanding their similar last names, none of them were related.
Suddenly, they heard a loud noise, like thunder, and they saw the
Archangel Michael. On the following days, the Archangel appeared today
in the same place, announcing to them that on July 2, they would see Our
Lady.
First Encounter with Our Lady
At six in the evening of July 2, in the presence of a crowd of
spectators, the girls entered into ecstasy and saw Our Lady, accompanied
by two angels, one being St. Michael. The girls described Our Lady as
follows:
She is dressed in a white robe with a blue mantle
and a crown of golden stars. Her hands are slender. There is a brown
scapular on her right arm, except when she carried the Child Jesus in
her arms. Her hair, deep nut-brown, is parted in the center. Her face is
long, with a fine nose. Her mouth is very pretty with lips a bit thin.
She looks like a girl of eighteen. She is rather tall. There is no voice
like hers. No woman is just like her, either in the voice or the face
or anything else.
The girls spoke with the Virgin with the simplicity of
children talking familiarly with their mother. “We were telling her,”
they said, "about our tasks, how we were going to the meadows...” and
“She smiled at the little things we told her.” After this first
apparition, Our Lady appeared numerous times, sometimes several times
each week, during 1961 and 1962. The four girls did not always
experience the apparition together, sometimes Our Lady to just one, two
or three of them.
The Children and Their Ecstasies
When the girls saw Our Lady, they immediately fell on their knees,
oblivious of the pain of their knees striking sharp rocks with a loud
noise (close medical examination by various doctors showed no signs of
injuries of their knees). Their facial expression suddenly changes,
completely absorbed in their rapture. Doctors and various witnesses
subjected them to various tests while in their state of ecstasy: they
did not react to pricks, burns or blows. Attempts to distract them
proved futile: powerful beams of strong light were focused on their
eyes, yet they did not even flicker, blink or show any signs of
discomfort – powerful light which, according to doctors, under normal
circumstances would have caused permanent eye damage. On the contrary,
their eyes remained wide open, with a look of profound, intense joy.
These ecstasies lasted from a few minutes to up to several hours, with
the girls remaining completely immobile in off-balance positions, heads
tilted back, eyes looking up, kneeling on rocks and rough terrain.
Many eminent doctors have studied the events and visited the
girls during the apparitions. After years of observation, a child
specialist has attested that the girls were always completely normal,
and that the ecstasies do not fall under any known psychological or
physiological phenomena. Dr. Ricard Puncernau, a renowned Barcelona
neuropsychiatrist, attests: “In the presence of these facts it is
difficult for the doctor to give a merely natural explanation... From a
strictly scientific point of view one cannot deny, at least thus far,
the possibility of a supernatural cause in all these phenomena.” Dr.
Gasca Ruiz and Dr. Ortis Gonzalez, who also studied the phenomena,
declared that “to keep silence would be true scientific cowardice on our
part. We do not find any convincing scientific explanation capable of
explaining such phenomena.”
The Miracle of the Host
As with most of the modern-day apparitions of Our Lady, there were
many who did not believe in the apparitions. For this reason, the four
girls continuously asked the Blessed Virgin and St. Michael to perform a
miracle to convince those who still did not believe in the visions.
Their request was granted. On June 22, 1962, St. Michael told
Conchita that on a date designated by the Virgin, he would give her
Communion and this time, the Host would be visible on our tongue. The
girls have testified that St. Michael on numerous occasions since the
start of the visions brought them Communion, although these were not
visible to onlookers.
A few days later, Conchita learned through Our Lady that the
“little miracle” of the Host would occur on July 18, and that she was to
announce it 15 days in advance. When the time came to announce the
expected miracle, she wrote numerous letters inviting people to come to
Garabandal to witness the miracle.
The pastor, Fr. Valentin, who doubted that the phenomenon would
happen, stopped her from writing many more letters. Despite this, news
of the anticipated miracle had already spread far and wide, and many
people from different parts of Spain began making preparations to be in
Garabandal on July 18.
On the day of the event, Conchita Gonzalez knelt in a village
street amid a large crowd of pilgrims who had made their way to
Garabandal to witness the promised miracle. Suddenly, a shining white
Host was seen to suddenly appear on the girl’s outstretched tongue. The
event was captured on film. Pepe Diez, the village mason, was a
close-hand observer and was among those who gave a first-hand testimony
to the miracle:
I did not take my eyes off the girl (Conchita).
She started to speak, to pray, and then she smiled and while smiling she
opened her mouth and put out her tongue very naturally. She extended
her tongue, not just a little bit, but quite a lot, and as I saw that
tongue so perfectly bare, I had a terrible feeling of disaster…I was
scarcely 18 inches away from her face and the sight of her tongue,
protruding and bare, gave me a terrible feeling of failure, I, who was
hoping for so much! Conchita kept her tongue out like that for about a
minute. And as I stood there, my eyes riveted on that tongue so
hopelessly bare, something incredible happened! Without moving my eyes
for a fraction of a second, suddenly a neat, precise and well-formed
Host appeared miraculously on Conchita's tongue. I can attest to the
fact that from the moment Conchita put out her tongue, she did not make a
single move, either with her mouth or with her tongue; not a single
muscle in her face moved.
The tongue was well out and bare and all of a sudden the Host
was there! I did not see how it came. It was instantaneous! I can't even
say it arrived in a split second. It was just there!
The Formal Messages
The first formal message of Our Lady was given to the girls on July
4, 1961, and publicly announced to the people on October 18. Below is
the message:
We must make many sacrifices, perform much
penance, and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first, we must
lead good lives. If we do not, a chastisement will befall us. The cup is
already filling up, and if we do not change, a very great chastisement
will come upon us.
The second formal message was given much later toward the end
of the apparitions. The Blessed Virgin told Conchita on January 1, 1965,
that the archangel Saint Michael would appear on June 18th, and would
deliver a message in her name. The message was as follows:
As my message of October 18 has not been complied
with and has not been made known to the world, I am advising you that
this is the last one. Before, the cup was filling up. Now it is flowing
over. Many cardinals, many bishops and many priests are on the road to
perdition and are taking many souls with them. Less and less importance
is being given to the Eucharist. You should turn the wrath of God away
from yourselves by your efforts. If you ask His forgiveness with sincere
hearts, He will pardon you. I, your mother, through the intercession of
Saint Michael the Archangel, ask you to amend your lives. You are now
receiving the last warnings. I love you very much and do not want your
condemnation. Pray to us with sincerity and we will grant your requests.
You should make more sacrifices. Think about the passion of Jesus.
Parallel Message with Akita
One cannot help but see the striking similarity of the formal
messages of Garabandal with the messages of Our Lady in the
Church-approved apparitions of Akita, Japan. On April 22, 1984 Bishop
John Shojiro Ito, local bishop of the region of Akita, Japan, declared
the Marian apparitions of Our Lady Akita to be of supernatural origin.
Below is the exact text of Our Lady’s messages in Akita:
As I told you, if men do not repent and better
themselves, the Heavenly Father will inflict a great punishment on all
humanity. It will definitely be a punishment greater than the Deluge,
such as has never been seen before.
Fire will plunge from the sky and a large part of humanity
will perish... The good as well as the bad will perish, sparing neither
priests nor the faithful. The survivors will find themselves plunged
into such terrible hardships that they will envy the dead. The only arms
which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the sign left by My
Son (Eucharist).
Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary pray
for the bishops and priests. The work of the devil will infiltrate even
into the Church. One will see cardinals opposing other cardinals... and
bishops confronting other bishops. The priests who venerate me will be
scorned and condemned by their confreres; churches and altars will be
sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the
demon will tempt many priests and religious to leave the service of the
Lord.
In her messages in Garabandal, Our Lady foretold three great
supernatural events: the Warning, the Great Miracle, and the Great
Chastisement. Of the three (3), the Great Chastisement, as with Akita,
is conditional.
The Warning
Conchita was advised by Our Lady at the pines on January 1, 1965 of a
divine Warning that would precede the Great Miracle. The Warning will
be seen and experienced by all people all over the world, and will be a
direct, supernatural work of God. It will take place before the Great
Miracle at a date unknown to Conchita, and its purpose is give people a
chance to amend their lives. Conchita wrote:
The warning comes directly from God and will be
visible to the whole world and from any place where anyone many happen
to be. It will be like the revelation of our sins and it will be seen
and felt by everyone, believer and unbeliever alike irrespective of
whatever religion he may belong to. It will be seen and felt in all
parts of the world and by every person.
In an interview in 1973, Conchita further describes the Warning:
The most important thing about the warning is
that every person--everyone in the whole world--will see a sign, a
grace, or a punishment within themselves. In other words, a warning.
They will find themselves all alone in the world, no matter where they
are at the time, alone with their conscience right before God. They will
then see all their sins, and what their sins have caused.
This idea of a worldwide warning, an “illumination of
consciences”, are likewise found in other private revelations, in
particular, the Diary of Saint Faustina. In an except from her diary
(n. 83), she reveals the following message from Jesus:
Before the day of justice arrives, there will be
given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort: All light in the
heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the
whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and
from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed
will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period
of time. This will take place shortly before the last day.
Likewise, in the “interior locutions” received by Fr. Stefano
Gobbi from Our Lady, as contained in the book “Our Lady Speaks to Her
Beloved Priests”, Our Lady foretold a “Second Pentecost” (message given
October 2, 1992):
What will come to pass is something so very great
that it will exceed anything that has taken place since the beginning
of the world. It will be like a judgment in miniature, and each one
will see his own life and all he has done, in the very light of God.
Furthermore, in her June 28, 1990 message to Fr. Gobbi:
The Second Pentecost will come like a river of
grace and of mercy which will purify the Church and make her poor and
chaste, humble and strong, without spot or wrinkle, all beautiful, in
imitation of your heavenly Mother…The Second Pentecost will come like a
dew upon the world and will transform the desert into a garden, in which
all humanity will run, like a spouse, to meet her Lord, in a renewed
covenant of love with Him.
Finally, in a message to Fr. Gobbi on May 22, 1994, Feast of Pentecost:
The triumph of my Immaculate Heart will coincide
with the great prodigy of the Second Pentecost. A new fire will come
down from heaven and will purify all humanity, which has again become
pagan. It will be like a judgment in miniature and each one will see
himself in the light of the very Truth of God. Thus sinners will come
back to grace and holiness; the straying, to the road of righteousness;
those far away, to the house of the Father; the sick, to complete
healing; and the proud, the impure, the wicked collaborators with Satan
will be defeated and condemned forever…open your hearts to hope, because
there is about to come upon you the greatest prodigy of the Second
Pentecost.
When will it happen? In the book “Garabandal – the Finger of
God”, author Albrecht Weber narrated a conversation he had with Conchita
as to when the Warning could possibly happen. Conchita told the author:
“When communism comes again everything will happen.”
The author responded: “What do you mean by comes again?” “Yes,
when it newly comes again,” she replied. “Does that mean that communism
will go away before that?” “I don't know,” she said in reply, “the
Blessed Virgin simply said ‘when communism comes again’.”
The Great Miracle
Conchita has clearly said that Our Lady has promised a Great Miracle
in Garabandal – a tremendous prodigy which, in the words of Conchita,
“will be the greatest Miracle Jesus has ever performed for the world.” In a location with Our Lord dated July 20, 1963, the Lord Jesus told Conchita that the Miracle is going to take place
“to convert the whole world.”
A concise summary and description of the miracle was narrated by
Conchita to author Francisco Sanchez-Venture and published in his book
Las Apariciones No Son Un Mito:
I am the only one to whom the Blessed Virgin
spoke of the miracle. She forbade me to say what it will consist of. I
can't announce the date either until eight days before it is due to
occur. What I can reveal is that it will coincide with an event in the
Church and with the feast of a saint, martyr of the Eucharist; that it
will take place at eight thirty on a Thursday evening; that it will be
visible to all those who are in the village and surrounding mountains;
that the sick who are present will be cured and the incredulous will
believe. It will be the greatest miracle that Jesus has performed for
the world. There won't be the slightest doubt that it comes from God and
that it is for the good of mankind. A sign of the miracle which it will
be possible to film or televise, will remain forever at the pines.
The Chastisement
While the Warning and the Great Miracle are events that will
definitely occur as prophesied by Our Lady in Garabandal, the third
great event, the Chastisement, is conditional and can be averted by
mankind’s repentance. Conchita describes it as follows:
I cannot reveal what kind of punishment it is
except that it will be a result of the direct intervention of God, which
makes it more terrible and fearful than anything we can imagine. It
will be less painful for innocent babies to die a natural death than for
those babies to die because of the punishment. All Catholics should go
to confession before the punishment and the others should repent of
their sins. When I saw IT (the punishment), I felt a great fear even
though at the same time I was seeing Our Blessed Mother. The punishment,
if it comes, will come after the miracle.
In his book The Apparitions of Garabandal, Francisco
Sanchez-Venture y Pascual includes the following note written by
Conchita about the Chastisement:
The Chastisement is conditional and depends on
whether or not mankind heeds the messages of the Blessed Virgin and the
Miracle. If it should take place, I know what it will consist of because
the Blessed Virgin told me about it, but I am not permitted to say what
it is. Moreover, I have seen the Chastisement. I can assure you that if
it comes, it will be worse than being enveloped in fire, worse than
having fire above and beneath you. I do not know how much time will
elapse between the Miracle and the Chastisement.
In an interview in April 2006, Marie Cruz, referring to the Chastisement, she said that
“the Virgin never was threatening, it was a warning- like a mother who advises a son, be he takes a bad road.”
Conchita said:
The Blessed Virgin Mary told me before that Jesus
does not want to send the punishment in order to distress us but in
order to help us and reproach us because we pay no attention to Him. And
the warning will be sent in order to purify us for the miracle in which
he will show us His great love, and in order that we may fulfill the
message.
The Church Position on Garabandal
The Church has a very strict and precise terminology for judging
alleged apparitions (very few apparitions are officially approved).
According to the norms of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, alleged apparitions are classified in one of three categories:
- Constat de supernaturalitate - It is certain that the events are of supernatural origin.
- Constat de non supernaturalitate - It is certain that the events are not of supernatural origin.
- Non-constat de supernaturalitate - It is not certain that the events are of supernatural origin.
So where does Garabandal stand? In a clarificatory letter
(English translation published in the EWTN website) dated June 8, 1993
written by Jose Vilaplana, Bishop of Santander (the local Diocese to
which Garabandal belongs), the Bishop wrote the following:
All the bishops of the diocese from 1961 through
1970 asserted that the supernatural character of the said apparitions,
that took place around that time, could not be confirmed. [no constaba].
Based on the above, Garabandal is classified in the 3rd
category – it is not certain that the events are of supernatural origin.
The Bishop did not say “it is certain that the events of Garabandal are
not of supernatural origin”, which constitutes a condemnation of the
apparition. Rather, based on the above note from the Bishop, the Church
is not certain of the supernatural nature of the events – which means
that the Church is leaving the door open for a possible positive
declaration in the future, pending further investigation.
In a letter written by Bishop Eugenio Beitia Aldazabal dated July 8, 1965, he clearly wrote that
“we have found no grounds for ecclesiastical condemnation.”
Bishop Jose Cirada Lachiondo, in a declaration published June 1970,
wrote that the messages of Garabandal “do not contain anything contrary
to traditional Church teaching on Faith and Morals”.
The first commission which studied the Garabandal events, while
stating that they found no phenomena which would authentic the
supernatural nature of the events, clearly did not condemn the
apparition and the messages, declaring that
“we have not found
anything deserving of ecclesiastical censure or condemnation either in
the doctrine or in the spiritual recommendations that have been
published as having been addressed to the faithful.”
The bishop who called the second commission, Bishop del Val, upon
retiring from office stated in an interview that the message of
Garabandal was “important” and “theologically correct.”
In light of the above, even though the Church has not given
official approval yet, a Catholic may in good standing believe in the
events at Garabandal. The local ordinaries have been very clear to avoid
condemnation. In fact, the Bishops allow private pilgrimages to
Garabandal – a typical practice when an alleged apparition has not yet
been approved or condemned.
Contrary to various negative reports on Garabandal, therefore,
the fact is that the apparitions have never been officially condemned by
the Church, particularly by several of the local bishops under whose
jurisdiction the apparitions fall. Although the apparitions have not
been officially approved, they have not been officially condemned
either. This is particularly because most of the important parts of the
message – the prophetic messages foretelling the Warning, the Miracle
and the Chastisement – can only be validated or invalidated upon their
actual occurrence. We will never know if the prophesied events are true
or not – until they actually happen.
A Message of Hope and Divine Mercy
Perhaps the Church will never be able to declare, with finality,
whether the Garabandal apparitions are “certainly of supernatural
origin”, or “certainly not of a supernatural origin.” This because the
only real way to prove or disprove the apparitions is to validate and
experience the actual occurence of the spectacular, prophesied events.
In the meantime, we individual Catholics simply have to read the facts,
reach a decision privately, and more importantly, let the message of
conversion, prayer and repentence change our lives.
In our continuing discernment of the Garabandal apparitions, it
may help to know that Mother Teresa and Padre Pio, two of the greatest
saints of the 20th century, actually believed in the Garabandal
apparitions. If we are to believe in the apparitions, as they did, then
we cannot help but marvel at the apparitions’ great message of hope,
love and Divine Mercy.
It is a message of hope for a world submerged in a sea of
darkness and suffering – rampant killings of millions of babies, wars
and massacres, corruption, moral degeneration. The world is seemingly
at the edge of a precipice; the Church, seemingly on the brink of total
collapse. And yet, the message of Garabandal assures us that God is in
control, and that God has a plan for rescuing poor humanity from the
clutches of Satan. It is a plan that involves a dramatic, direct
intervention of God to bring all men of good will back to Him. And if
indeed the apparitions are true, then what a marvelous plan it is!
From
http://www.all-about-the-virgin-mary.com/
