Thursday, January 10, 2008

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 5

At the door of the church

Second Vision

I will begin to describe the second vision that I should say is in Fr. Valentín’s diary as ending at 1:10.


On these days three of the four seers were in San Sebastián de Garabandal. Conchita remained in Santander.


I took the details of this vision from Fr. Luís’ notes, according to the document that combined his notes with Fr. Cipriano Abad’s and Fr. Andrés Pardo’s.


“At 12:14 in the afternoon they fell on their knees in front of the Pines. Loli had her hands together, squeezing tightly.


L: “And, why? Yes.”

J: “Yesterday the priests prayed that there would be many converts when they went to America. They told us that you became sad.”


Note: This refers to Fr. Cipriano Abad who was going to go to Venezuela and Fr. Ramón María Andreu, S.J., who told us that he was going to Nicaragua.



Note: The sentence “there are four here” came after some words that we didn’t hear well. We don’t know if it refers to four stones, or that there were four priests here. In general the affection the girls show toward the priests is very great in the form of respect and obedience.


“Who is this one for? It’s for Trini.”

“It’s for Jacintuca.”

“It’s for a tall priest who said the last mass. This other one is for his brother. He also said mass. This is for the student.”


Note: They talked here about five stones for five people. The tall priest that said the mass is Fr. Ramón María Andreu. The brother who also said mass is Fr. Luís María Andreu and the student is Fr. Andrés Pardo who at this date had begun his fourth course of Theology at Comillas.


(Now they pray the Hail Mary, according to the new way).

“Can we pray it like this when we pray?”


Note: The scene involving the new formula for the Hail Mary was like this. Fr. Ramón was accustomed to praying the Hail Mary saying: “The Lord is with you, blessed are you among women.” It was like this that the girls heard it at the end of the masses they attended, but definitely at the last mass. During this vision they said this sentence to the Virgin: “A priest taught us the Hail Mary like this,” and they recited it. Upon finishing they said: “Again?” And they repeated it and then said this sentence: “Should we pray it like this, when we pray?” They alluded to praying the rosary with this new form of the Hail Mary, something they did like this a little after.


“Look at St. Michael the Archangel

(they sing the hymn):

“St. Michael the Archangel,

Great warrior,

Who fought the beast,

Who conquered Lucifer.’

“Who is like God?

No one is like God!”

(They make the sign of the cross slowly).


J: “We pray the rosary and you pray with Loli and me in front.”


Note: In my notes, the appearance of Ud. does not occur in this instance. Since it was difficult to hear sometimes, it could be that there are discrepancies because each of us produced sentences from different girls in the same moment of conversation. I have it like this: Then Jacinta said: “Do we pray the rosary? I’m with you and Loli answered”—and she began to pray from—“Sometimes they pose the question of whether the Virgin prayed with the girls or not. The responses have been affirmative sometimes and negative sometimes. More than paying attention to the girls, the responses have to establish the right date on which they respond. What I have been able to observe in this sense until this date has been the following: In the beginning the Virgin prayed frequently with the girls. Other times I listened and moved my head with a slight movement of correction when one of the girls made a mistake about something. The one thing that the three girls always agree upon is that the Virgin says when it is time for the Gloria. On this occasion, upon praying they asked the Virgin why she didn’t pray and she responded that she had prayed the other times to teach the girls. An observer who was only slightly interested could call this a trick if he observed that the girls prayed responding to the vision. From that alone one can’t guess that the Virgin prayed in this case with the girls who have already prayed several times with the Angel and after August 16th, they prayed many times with Fr. Luís. It also seems very clear that they wanted to teach more when they’d prayed with the Virgin.



L: “What day is it, Jacinta?”

J: “Tuesday, Sorrowful Misteries.”

(They pray the Act of Contrition. Then they pray the rosary; Loli begins).

J: “Slowly.”

L: (Hail Mary). “A priest taught me.”


(Normal pronunciation. The eyes are looking at the exact same place as before. Jacinta pronounces the words normally, but Loli’s lips tremble sometimes. Jacinta has her arms crossed, and Loli’s arms are down with her hands together in front. They take photos half a meter away. One time Loli says: “Among all of the women.” Jacinta corrects her: “Among women.” This is in the middle of the third mystery. They don’t count the Hail Marys, not even with their fingers on the rosary, but they always say ten. In the fourth mystery Jacinta says: “Among all”—she corrects herself and says: “Among women.” The fourth and fifth mysteries end normally. Upon continuing, she says:


“Our Lady, well appeared, kissed.” (Loli continues offering. She looks).

L: “I don’t know where I have it.” (They offer the scapulars. Loli offers it with medals at the same time in the palm of her hand).


L. “Kiss the rosary.” (She offers the medals on the rosary, one by one, saying: “For this one, for this one”).

L. “I don’t think there are any more.” (She says this about the little medals on the Rosary).


L. “If I give you a stone, you’ll kiss it, right? I’m trying to find it.”

“It seems that this belongs to the one who is going with the tall priest to America.”


Note: The tall priest was Fr. Ramón María Andreu, S.J., and the one going with him to America was the seminarian Fr. Cipriano Abad. The association of these two regarding a trip to America includes the girls asking to pray for them, since they had their work ahead of them in America.


“Here! Why wasn’t it confused with my father’s.” (She kept it in the left sleeve of her sweater).

J: “I know it. Loli, you took it from me.”

“This one is for the priest who comes with the two priests and makes movies.”


Note: This is a direct allusion to Fr. Eugenio Fontaneda, who on this day and the day before filmed an extraordinary cinema graphic report in which the girls appeared as witnesses, as did their parents. There were some small moments in which the girls appeared in ecstasy. This movie has the last footage taken of Fr. Luís María Andreu, S.J., which corresponds to 8 days before his death.


“This is for the other one who was the brother of the man who filmed us.”

Note: This is an allusion to Mr. Rafael Fontaneda Pérez, who is Mr. Eugenio’s brother.

“Wait, did you find another? This is the one I came out on. They’re the same. See if you confuse me.”


“This one, it’s a square, it’s for Cirinín, my brother. Where should I put it so it doesn’t get confused?”

“Don’t go, don’t go for a little while, because you’ve only been here a short time. A minute.”


L: “Yes.”

L: “Good.”

L: “I don’t know. Why? Already—when? Ah!”

Jacinta: “And, before we eat is there another? But I have to go to the field. Oh! But I have to go to the field.”


Note: This passage alludes to the Virgin telling the girls that they were going to see her again before they ate. In fact, this took place at 3:45. Jacinta’s problem is that she had to go to the field in the afternoon. Jacinta’s field is far away, about 5 kilometers. Because of this, Loli told her mother that it didn’t make sense to stop seeing the Virgin to go to the field. In this part of the dialogue, as in other dialogues, her desire to see the Virgin appears. The sincerity of this desire is notable, as well the sorrow expressed when they couldn’t see the Virgin.



L: “And you’re going to stop seeing the Virgin to go to the field? Tell your mother to come here.”

“We come here then? Then I will not move from here. Well, I’ll stay here. In the village there is a long road.”


“It’s at 2? What time is it? It’s past 12. At 2 or 1:30. Don’t go—huh? Wait a little. You haven’t been here a minute.”


L: “You tell us how many we have seen? Three quarters of an hour? You don’t want to tell me—a lot—we’ve only been here a minute, half a minute—yes, we have been here half a minute.”


Note: The sensation that they hadn’t been there any time, or almost no time, even though it had been more than an hour, goes with the desire that it wouldn’t end. Because of this, they say things like “don’t go,” and use the argument that “you haven’t been here more than a minute.”


“Yes, what.”

J: “Oh! I’ve already forgotten who the stones were for. They took them from me. Loli, did you take them from me? You rascal—I took a lot and now I only have two. Oh! They left me. This other long one, who is it for?”


Note: The word rascal in the mouths of the girls, as in this region, has a caring meaning. In the sentence: “Oh, they left me” she is referring to the stone that they had put in the sleeve of her sweater.


“This one is for the short priest.”

Note: (This refers to Fr. Cipriano Abad).


“Let’s see if I remember who this is for.”

Note: There is an inventory. Among the different destinations of the kissed stones, she mentions that one is for the tall priest, who is Fr. Ramón, for his brother, who is Fr. Luís, the brother with the film, who is Mr. Rafael Fontaneda Pérez, and the fifth is for Mr. Eugenio.


“For the tall priest. Which one of them? (Of the stones). The third? I think so. For his brother. For his brother with the film. It was the long one.”


(She collects them on the ground. She looks at the same place as always. They sing St. Michael’s Hymn. Before the hymn she had said: “Don’t go—what?”)


L: “Yes.” (She laughs).

J: “She goes.” (She waves goodbye).


Loli: “Why are you going? Wait a little while. Why not? And, the child? He’s sleeping? He’s tired. But you’ll bring him at 1:30?”


“Will you kiss me, St. Michael? Now you, the Virgin. (She receives a double kiss at the same time and the girls return the double kiss. They sing the Hail Mary, smiling.


“We sing bad? You sing it better if that’s the case.”

J: “Will you give me the crown?”

L: “Will you give me the crown? It’s very large, you see, very large.”

J: “Give it to me.”


L: “Take it, it’s very large on me. The Child’s is small. Go and look for the Child. Oh! You’re going? You’re not going to look, you’re leaving.”


J: “The scapular, it’s very long on me, more than on Loli.”

“Kiss my hand (she offers her hand for the Virgin to kiss). Now me.” (She kisses the Virgin’s hand).


“Now on both sides of the face.”

“You’re wearing the most beautiful dress. Oh, how beautiful! White, with white flowers. And a blue mantle, blue.”



“A priest asked us what your eyebrows were like and whether we could take a picture of your face.”

Note: To be able to have an idea of what the girls saw when they saw the Virgin, we asked them some questions. We showed them images of the Virgin that were in a book of meditations called “Only Mary,” and they told me that she didn’t look like any of them. I asked several things having to do with the dress, whether she wore shoes, the color of her hair, her eyebrows, etc.


“Does she have black eyebrows—no? And her hair, what is it like? Turn around so we can see. Her hair is very long.”

“Conchita said: ‘Fr. Valentín wants to see me as a gypsy.’” (They smile).


Note: This allusion to what Conchita said is made in her absence, since Conchita is in Santander today. Fr. Valentín’s sentence refers to Conchita’s hair. Later when they wanted a point of comparision regarding the Virgin’s hair they said that was long, like Conchita’s hair before she cut her braids.


“It’s true that you said that they attended. Loli and I are going to leave it long.”

Note: The most probable interpretation of what they meant by this, “leaving it to be long” refers to their hair, which they had cut short.


“Today there were four Masses. I thought that there would be five, but one is only a student, and he still has two years until he finishes.”


Note: This refers to the masses celebrated in San Sebastián de Garabandal by Fr. Valentín, Fr. Cipriano Abad, Fr. Luís María Andreu, and Fr. Ramón María Andreu. The student was Andrés Pardo, who still had two years of study left before his ordination. He came wearing a cassock, so the girls thought he was going to say Mass.


“Oh! You took mine.”

“This is very small, but it is one.”


Note: These are allusions to the stones. At this moment, they began to make a new inventory of the stones. Upon seeing the girls begin to count the stones and trying to tell the person each stone was meant for, Andrés Pardo, who had taken his from the ground, took it out of his pocket. They drew near the other stones that the girls had and Andrés Pardo placed his among them. When they went giving the stones to be kissed, the girl was asking who it was for, and she added it to the pile of kissed stones. Andrés’s stone arrived there like this. The Vision told the girl that it had already been kissed, and that it belonged to the student. The surprise and amazement of those present was great because it was Andrés’s stone. As with all of the stones before she had repeated the name of the person it belonged to, with affirmation from those who remembered which was their stone. I remembered mine when I gave it to be kissed and after a little while, when other subjects had been abandoned, the inventory began, and when they arrived at the one I had given to be kissed, they said that it belonged to the tall priest.


L: “They took the student’s from me. (They looked for the stone for a while). (The student had placed it). “Oh! I found it. Why did you take it from me?” (She touched it with her fingers and said: “It’s kissed.” (And it was). Then who does it belong to? Was it the student’s? Oh! What foolishness.”


“Six, all together.”

L: “We didn’t take any for Fr. Valentín. This is for Fr. Valentín.”

J: “I have to take another, Loli. This is for Mr. Severino, for when he returns here. We already told him yesterday, but he forgave us the other day.”


“This is for the brother who took pictures of us.”

L: “These are of Jacinta. Take them from me (she gives them).

“This one, who is it for?”


“For Mrs. (Gapita) de Oliva. Touch it so she will be cured. Cure her!”

“This small one is for María del Carmen, my sister. Kiss it and touch it.”

“This is for whom? For no one.”


L: “This is for the tall priest. This is for—oh! See if I remember how many I have.”

J: “This is for my father, this is for my mother. Do you know who this is for? For Paquita. This is for the professor.”


“This is for Ramonín, who also asked me.”

“This is for Victori, not Consuelo’s, who told me no.”

L: “Oh. Take mine! I have such a pile of them.”


J: “Oh! Don’t go.”

L: “Who did I take one from? This is for—let’s see for sure, for Josefina.”

J: “You’re already tired of kissing. Just kiss this one, that’s all.”


L: “For Aunt Laureana. This one is bad. For Aunt Laureana, I don’t remember, cure her.”

“You’re not tired of kissing so many?”

“Take them from me again.”


Note: This sentence is directed to her companion and alludes to the stones. They were joking, giving the stones to one then the other.

At 1:10 they quieted and looked. They kissed. They blessed themselves and made the sign of the cross.

L: “Let’s pray here and now!”


After a few minutes Jacinta said:

“Oh, she left!”

“The Vision ended.”


Upon finishing this Vision we stayed at the Pines and decided to wait there. But we descended into the village and ate something. When my watch showed two o’clock we began to go up to the Pines again. We stayed there talking and joking until the next vision arrived. During this time, I asked Jacinta:


“Listen, when you have the calls, what does the Virgin say? Does she say to you: ‘Jacinta, come?’” When I finished saying this, Loli interrupted, saying: “The first call says: ‘Jacinta.’ The second: ‘Jacinta, come!’ And the third: ‘Jacinta! Run, run, run,’ but all of this is within, there are no words.” At 3:45 the 3rd vision began.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 4



6th Diary

August 1st—1st and 2nd Visiones.

Summary:

Schedule. First Vision. Second Vision. The tendency of the priests. She formulates a Hail Mary. We have St. Michael. Does the Virgin pray the Hail Mary? They give medals to be kissed. They give stones to be kissed. To go to the field or to see the Virgin? There is the sensation that time passes quickly. They sing the Hail Mary. The scapular. Black eyebrows and long hair. The student’s stone. You don’t tire of kissing?


August 1, 1961

Combining Fr. Luís María’s notes, Fr. Andrés Pardo’s notes, and my own notes, as well as Fr. Valentín Marichalar’s personal diary, we obtain the following vision from August 1, 1961.


First Vision: Time: 10:44am

Place: the Pines

Seers: Jacinta and Loli

Source: Fr. Valentín Marichalar’s diary

Finished: 11:15am


Second Vision: Time: 12:14pm

Place: the Pines

Seers: Jacinta and Loli

Source: combined document

Finished: 1:10pm


Third Vision: Time: 3:45pm

Place: the Pines

Seers: Jacinta and Loli

Source: combined document

Finished: 4:04pm


According to Fr. Valentín’s diary, Mari Cruz had an ecstasy in the balcony of her house that lasted 20 minutes.


First Vision

According to Fr. Valentín’s diary, the ecstasy began at 10:44am and lasted until 11:15am. I don’t have any references other than the diary. I will cite it, what it refers to.


August 1st

Loli and Jacinta went to the Pines after Mass. They received Communion at Mass and the apparition began at 10:44 and ended at 11:15.


They prayed a Station with the Virgin in front of them. They gave stones to be kissed. It seemed like the Virgin said that they’d given her enough and Jacinta said: “Look, only this one.” She had already given six to be kissed. She put on the crown, gave medals to be kissed, and Loli stayed a few minutes longer. It ended at 11:15.

(This is all I have that makes reference to the Vision).


Tuesday, January 8, 2008

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.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Fr. Ramon Andreu's Notes: Part Two, Post 2




July 31, 1961

For a description of the different happenings that took place on July 31st, I will use Fr. Luís’ notes, combined with notes from Fr. Cipriano Abad and Fr. Andrés Pardo. I will put these notes together with personal explanations taken from my own notes and my memory.



Responses of the girls:

On July 31st we made time to interrogate the three girls who were in San Sebastián de Garabandal. Conchita was still in Santander. I cite the document:



“We wanted to ask the girls a few questions to clarify some of the things that they’d said.
Loli’s father brought the three girls to his house. In one of the rooms, the father was with Fr. Cipriano Abad, Fr. Ramón Andreu. The three girls gave responses to the questions that Fr. Luís Andreu asked them. The responses are the following:


1st: “Did you see the Virgin from the time of the first apparition?”

R: “We had to wait a few days to see the Virgin. We saw the Angel first.”


2nd: “Do you always see the same Virgin?”

R: “The first time it was Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Another time it was Our Lady of Mt. Carmel with a scapular here (they signal with their hands). She wore a thing like this (they made a gesture of a cinched cord that fell almost to her feet). The Child carried the scapular.”


Note: The identity of the Vision that appeared as one Virgin one day and another on a different day was indicated not by a change in the face, but by a change in the clothing she wore. The girls asked the vision before who all of the Virgins were. She responded to the girls that there was only one Virgin, which was her, María. The Virgin and the Child both carried scapulars.


3rd: “Did the Child say the same things as the Virgin?”

R. “The Child did not speak. He laughed. The Virgin kissed us and we kissed her.”


4th: “I heard that sometimes you have seen different angels.”

R. “The Virgin of the Angels also appeared to us.”


5th: “They say that the Virgin changed the secret that she had told the Angel, because she added some things.”

R. “First the Angel spoke of the secret and then the Virgin. But there are two secrets: the Angel’s secret and the Virgin’s secret. We never talk amongst ourselves about the secret because once the people heard us. On October 18th we have to tell the Virgin’s secret. We can tell the Angel’s secret already.” (To an insinuation of what we said to them then, even though it was private, they responded, “On October 18th we will tell the Virgin’s secret and ‘if we want’ we can tell the Angel’s secret as well that day, but only if we want to”).


Note: When October 18th arrived the girls didn’t tell the Angel’s secret. On the next day, October 19th, I asked them if they wanted to tell me the Angel’s secret. The girl I said this to was Conchita, and I said it in the sacristy of the Church. She told me that since the 18th had passed, and she hadn’t told it, she didn’t know if she was allowed to say. She didn’t tell me. The impression that I took away from this encounter, as from others, is that when an infantile reaction is about to occur, there is also a manner of behaving that is like a transmission between the Virgin and the girls, not quite transcendent, nor is there the feeling that the words have been transmitted. This manner of acting gives the girls authenticity.


6th: “When the Virgin appears to you, do you laugh to each other?”

R. “No, we laugh when one is in ecstasy and the other isn’t.”


7th: “Does the Virgin frighten you?”

R. “No. One day we were frightened when we saw a glow and we didn’t see the ground.”


8th: “What is the Virgin’s voice like?”

R. “There isn’t any voice like hers.”


9th: “And the Virgin, how is she when she appears?”

R. “She appears on her feet, on a wreath or in the air. Always standing, like this, near (she makes a gesture).”


10th: “Are there many angels?”

R. “There are five angels, including St. Michael.”

“How do you know?”

“She told us that she was the Virgin (Queen) of the Angels.”


Note: The Queen of the Angels, the Queen of the Rosary, the Virgin of Perpetual Help, etc. These titles correspond to the same person in the minds of the girls, who is the Virgin, María. The Virgin herself explained it like this. When coming with angels, normally she would come with St. Michael. The girls would ask: “Why do you come with angels today?” And the response was like this: “It’s because I am the Queen of the Angels.” Something of an analogy would occur then with the scapular, and with the other titles that the Vision received.


11th: “Do you have to ask for a miracle or a sign from the Virgin.”

R. “She becomes very serious when we ask her for a miracle.”


This dialog that is summarized in eleven questions, didn’t seem like an interrogation, but rather a simple conversation in which they spoke of non-transcendent things, like what games they wanted to play, names of family members, etc. In this way they tried to create a climate of cordiality that made this easier. This was the first time that we’d talked with the girls in such an extensive manner. The questions corresponded with the points of view and problems that we planted in the first impression that we received. The people also tried to confuse them with capricious questions, but they couldn’t. This dialog took place in the afternoon according to what I can remember now.