THANK YOU SO MUCH! I made it there, saw, prayed. Definitely a very special place that is frequently visited. I saw other pilgrims visiting and learned that priests are now allowed to give mass in the town, which is a good thing. I would like to know if Conchita still believes she will deliver the message she was indicated to, back then? Over 50 years have gone by and the world has changed. While some things appear to have come to pass, has her mission changed? If not, has her message changed? I think that regardless of the expectation for delivery of Conchita's message, we must still heed Mother Mary's request above all. That's what Christ wants, not for us to wait for a message to start repenting and praying.... Thank you,
OCTOBER 11, 1961: FIRST CLARIFICATION OF THE VERY IMPORTANT REVELATION OF OCTOBER 1, 1961: THE FUTURE AND DEFINITIVE "PERFECT UNITY OF ALL CHRISTIANS". The conversations between Father Luis and the visionaries have, it appears to us, always held a very positive ecumenical trait. On the Feast, then, of the Divine Motherhood of Mary, Fr. Luis and Conchita spoke about this extraordinary prophecy already partly revealed by Our Lady on the previous October 1: "Ah, the Churches will be reunited? . . . Yes, they will be reunited! . . ." Conchita rejoiced over this formidable prophetic news. In November 1965, the visionary, as she had already done many times since October 11, 1961, confirmed the accuracy of that great revelation to the German editor, Albrecht Weber. She also clarified somewhat, what the Blessed Virgin had told her concerning the great Church event to come. "She (Our Lady) again told us that the divided (Churches) will reunite. There will be only one 'religion.' A better translation: "The Christian Churches will then be One in the Catholic Church." In the light of such a prophetic revelation, the meaning and scope of the "one, Catholic, apostolic and Roman Church" that the visionaries, in ecstasy, had professed for the first time on August 1, 1961, at the time of the recitation of the Creed, acquired their full significance. Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, J. Serre, page 107
OCTOBER 12,1961 MARY THROWS DOWN A STAR ! It was the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar [The feast of Our Lady of the Pillar is on October 12th. It is a great feast day in Spain and Latin America. The religious celebration comes from devotion to Mary through an ancient statue in the great Marian basilica in Saragossa. The statue, because it stands on a column (reputedly part of the column on which Christ was scourged), has received the name of del Pilar. According to tradition, here on the banks of the Ebro River, the first temple was built to honor Mary on the Iberian peninsula, the land of the Mother of God. The civil holiday, both in Spain and Latin-America, is based on the fact that on October 12th, 1492, the Spanish discoverers landed on the American continent. Also on October 12th, the Civil Guard celebrates the feastday of its patron. Juan Alvarez Seco, the chief of the Civil Guard, stated: «On October 12th, while apart from the others, I received the cross to kiss from the four girls, as if it were a congratulation from the Virgin for being the feast of our patron and for having come on that evening to Garabandal.»] during another day of our apparitions, at which Loli and I were present. While we were looking at the Virgin, a star with a very long tail was seen beneath the Virgin's feet. Several people saw this. We asked the Virgin what it meant; but she didn't answer. To be exact about the time, the phenomenon about which Conchita speaks seems to have occurred not on October 12th, the feastday of Our Lady of the Pillar, but on the beginning of October 13th. But what she writes is easily explainable; since in the determination of time, for the girls the day began on getting up in the morning and ended on going to bed at night; that is, the time during which they were awake. The ecstasies that began on the evening of October 12th extended into the middle of the night. The people began leaving, and toward 2:30 in the morning almost no one remained in the little village plaza except a small group consisting of responsible men: Dr. Ortiz from Santander, Luis Adaro from Gijón, Rafael Sanz Moliner from Oviedo, and Rufino Alonso from Pola de Siero. They had met there, waiting for their wives who had gone to Mari Cruz' home to collect some religious articles that they had entrusted with the girl to give to the Virgin to kiss. Mari Cruz had an ecstasy during which she had gone up to the Pines. There she had prayed a Station to the Blessed Sacrament, and later stopped in the calleja, at the site of the first apparition, where she prayed another Station. The people in the plaza soon saw two of the girls, Conchita and Loli, go under the balcony or terrace connected to the house of Loli's grandmother.They were in ecstasy there and let out a shout at the same time as they raised up their arms. "We saw the Virgin throw down a star." «Instinctively» — Dr. Ortiz said — "We looked upwards toward the sky, and we saw a star cross from the north to the south (that is, in the direction toward the Pines) with a great brilliance, leaving a trail that lasted several seconds ... I know that Maximina Gonzalez and other women of the village saw the star too. On the contrary some young boys, who were at the entrance of Ceferino's house and who ran toward the girls on hearing the cry, didn't see anything because they were under the balcony like the girls. After the star had passed, we went where the girls were and accompanied them praying toward the church, at whose entrance the ecstasy stopped. Immediately we asked them: — Why did you scream? — Because we saw the Virgin throw down a star. — But you couldn't have seen the star, since you were under the balcony! — "Well we certainly saw it. The Virgin did this." Father Valentin mentions this phenomena in his notes: "We were in the plaza. Conchita and Loli shouted out loud with fear. Everyone was frightened. Some of the people looked at the girls; others looked at the sky. Those who did the latter said that they saw a brilliant star that crossed from one part of the sky to another, and that it could not in any way be mistaken for a shooting star or comet. After having screamed, the girls laughed and went on happily, as if dancing with joy." It is understandable that all these things, wrapped like this in a halo of mystery, and probably magnified by being transmitted from person to person, necessarily had to leave the people very impressed. With all these things happening, it would be easy to think: Where will all this end? Surely all these things are an announcement of something great to come. What will we see on the day of the message? " "SHE WENT IN HASTE TO THE MOUNTAIN", BOOK 2 PGS 18-20
OCTOBER 13, 1961: A "13TH OF OCTOBER" WITH PROFOUND AND PROPHETIC RESONANCES? A crowd of seventy thousand was present at the "Miracle of the Sun" at Fatima, on October 13, 1917. The Blessed Virgin was appearing for the sixth and last time, on that same day in 1917, to the young visionaries of the Cova da Iria, . . . under the title of 'Our Lady of Mount Carmel'. At Garabandal, on this "October 13," there occurred a mysterious cosmic phenomenon, the only one of which the Blessed Virgin refused to explain the nature or the reason, to the girls! Conchita and Loli, in ecstasy, saw, as it were, a dazzling star, not a comet, "nothing of that kind," said Don Valentin, who, at least in part, had witnessed the event, as had other people there. Kind of a preview of the prophetic worldwide AVISO? (The Warning) Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, J. Serre,page 107
October 14, 1961 Fr. Ramon Andreu’s trip and miraculous healing. October 14, 1961 Fr. Ramon Maria Andreu’s trip - “We came to San Sebastian de Garabandal." Two days after the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, there appeared for the first time in Garabandal a German engineer who was residing in Spain at Madrid: Máximo Förschler Entenmann. Although Protestant, he was very closely tied to the Andreu family; because of this he came accompanied by Fr. Ramón María. The journey was not easy. It was the 14th, the second Saturday of October, the octave of that special feast day of the rosary that had taken place in Garabandal. Let us listen to what he says: "Some 20 kilometers before Cossio we had a tremendous smash-up with another car on a mountain pass. The accident could have had fatal consequences. Only later did I come to understand that it was without doubt the Most Holy Virgin who had saved us from certain death. Because of what had happened we came to San Sebastian de Garabandal very late, after eleven at night. We retired to the house where we had lodging (all the houses of the village were open to Father Ramón María Andreu); and following this, at twelve o'clock, Father began to be very sick, with nausea, cold sweats, and terrible pains in his left ankle, which seemed very swollen . . . In the village were a doctor from Santander and a bone specialist from Burgos. [The house where Fr. Andreu and Mr. Forschler were staying belonged to a woman named Epifania, called Fania. Dr. Celestino Ortiz Pérez was the doctor from Santander and Dr. Renedo was the one from Burgos.] I called them. After an examination they made a diagnosis: besides the obvious swelling, there was probably a fracture of the ankle, at least a hairline crack. [So severe were his pains that he was not able to tolerate the slight weight of the sheet put over it to cover it. After a long time — it had to be 3:30 in the morning — we began hearing a noise in the street, and people shouting that the owner of the house should open the door, since Jacinta was there in ecstasy, wanting to come in. Shortly afterwards she appeared in the room, went toward Father and gave him the crucifix to kiss. [Jacinta entered the room, raised the crucifix up in her hand, and said to the vision, “Father is very sick! Cure him. He is delirious , . , Cure him.” At the exact moment when the priest kissed the crucifix that the girl held out to him, his pains disappeared completely. “She went in haste to the mountain”, book 2, pages 21-22
OCTOBER 15, 1961 (Continuation of Fr. Andreu’s fractured foot healing, from yesterday). It was about 8 o'clock. Father told the doctor that all his pains were gone, and that he was able to move his foot without difficulty. The doctor was surprised; but as a precaution, he counseled him not to step on the foot, and to wait for the coming of the ambulance that they had been able to summon from Casa Valdecilla in Santander. The injury had been serious and normally would take from fifteen to twenty days to get better. The Casa de Salud Valdecilla was the biggest hospital in Santander. We have the following information about this from Father Andreu. The doctor found the Father sitting on the edge of the bed. — What are you doing Father? — As you see, I am trying to get up . . . — Don't do that! That's foolish. Let's see your ankle . . . The doctor got down on one knee to examine the ankle better. Then raising his head toward the Father, looking at him in a peculiar way, he said: — What a comedian you are! Come on, show me the bad ankle. The priest with apparent indifference showed him the other ankle, which was the good one. The doctor examined it very carefully . . . He compared it with the other . . . and ended up raising his head again toward the Father, while he said with an expression hard to describe, What strange things happen in this village! Continuing now with Mr. Förschler's description: «When the doctors left, Father began to put his shoes on, since he felt no pain . . . He went to stand on his foot, and did it without difficulty. Then he decided to celebrate Mass in the village, declining to advise Father Valentín to come to the village. During the entire ceremony he moved and knelt down, and got up without difficulty. Jacinta had told him in ecstasy at 3:30 in the morning had been this: Father, the Virgin told me that you were ill; but she told me to tell you that you are cured. At the same time the pains disappeared.”. “She went in haste to the mountain”, book 2, pages 22-23
OCTOBER 16, 1968: PADRE PIO, LOURDES AND CONCHITA: NEW EXCEPTIONAL "CONFIRMATIONS" OF THE AUTHENTICITY OF GARABANDAL When Blessed Padre Pio died, on September 23, 1968, Conchita was very perplexed. The Blessed Virgin's prophecy, predicting that he would see the Miracle, had apparently not been fulfilled . . . But, on October 16 of the same year, the visionary received a telegram from Lourdes. It was sent by a lady friend of hers, urging her to go to the world-famous Sanctuary, to receive a letter written by Blessed Padre Pio (written, by the way, just . . . one day before the Blessed Capuchin "confirmed," once more, the supernatural authenticity of Garabandal to a French author in spiritual matters, whom we know very well ( Jacques Serre). Convent of the Capuchins, August 22, 1968, For Conchita - Padre Pio has said: "I pray the most Blessed Virgin to comfort her and to guide her towards sanctity. I bless her with all my heart." Fr. Pellegrino This note dictated by Padre Pio the very day, at the time of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to Fr. Pellegrino, then Superior of the Monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo, was brought to Conchita by one of the famous Capuchin's messengers and friends, the Franciscan Fr. Bernardino Cennamo, who himself had been in San Sebastian de Garabandal on June 18, 1965, and had witnessed the spectacular ecstasy of that famous day, but still doubting about its divine origin . . . until the famous Capuchin of Pietrelcina asked him to offer Conchita the little veil that was to be used to cover his face soon after his death -- a most exceptional 'relic' that the visionary inherited at Lourdes. She also learned from Fr. Bernardino that Padre Pio had clearly "seen the Miracle" shortly before dying (on August 22, 1968): "He told me so himself," the Franciscan insisted. A few days later, Conchita wrote to Joey Lomangino and mentioned the altogether important recent "event." As to Fr. B. Cennamo himself, he will eventually corroborate firmly what has been said above, in a letter of July 4, 1969, to an English gentleman. From 'Garabandal' Book, J. Serre, pages 216-217
WHY IS GARABANDAL SACRED GROUND ? We all know about the special area of Garabandal called "The Pines". The 9 Pine trees where the Blessed Mother appeared, and foretold of the great Miracle that will take place there. Mary said "It will be the greatest miracle that my Son, Jesus, will have ever performed for mankind.” The Virgin Mary referred to “the Pines“ : "God loves this place very much. This place is sacred." “GARABANDAL JOURNAL” NOV.-DEC. 2002
My family visited Medjugorje for a week in December of '87 (only 2 young children back then). But I still have a conviction (yearning) that I will yet visit the Pines. Garabandal- a site of great hope. And whenever that is I will also visit Padraig since he will be just a few hours from there! Ah, the sidetrips I will put Geralyn through! O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
OCTOBER 18, 1961: THE FIRST "MESSAGE" IS MADE PUBLIC AT LAST . The Blessed Virgin wanted the Message read in front of the church. "WE MUST MAKE MANY SACRIFICES, PERFORM MUCH PENANCE, AND VISIT THE BLESSED SACRAMENT FREQUENTLY. BUT FIRST, WE MUST BE VERY GOOD. 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." Signed by the four little visionaries.Conchita Gonzalez, Mary Dolores Mazon, Jacinta Gonzalez Gonzalez, Maria Cruz Gonzalez The Apparitions of GARABANDAL BY F. SANCHEZ-VENTURA Y PASCUAL Chapter 9, page 119
Today in Garabandal history: October 19 1966 Conchita enters as a boarder, a school operated by the religious of the Concepcionistas Misioneras de la Ensañanza. The directress of the college, was Sr. María Nieves García . There was no chance of her having a realistic life there in the village. Everyday she had people telling her what to do, and it would be impossible for her to go outside or even do her chores because of the countless visitors wanting to see her, talk to her, question her, touch her ( as if she had powers to heal ),that is why her mother sent her away at 17 to another town for her education . Here is Conchita in her own words : " " I remember my village caused me to suffer. I felt as if I was imprisoned. I acted by the commands of others who constantly advised me " Go to mass, Pray the rosary, Do this, Give up that ". At times I thought I would be happy in a hermitage away from everyone, and to work there alone for God and see what I was capable of doing without their forever telling me." 11-25-66
Today in San Sebastian de Garabandal the third and final day of the International Congress Spain with Garabandal takes place. All speeches are available on the Iniciativa Internacional España con Garabandal channel. I haven't started listening yet, but I believe it's all in Spanish.
October 19, 1982 Warning Interview with Mary Loli. Q. Do you remember what the Blessed Mother said about the communist tribulation that is to precede the Warning? A. It would look like the communists would have taken over the whole world and it would be very hard to practice the religion, for priests to say Mass or for people to open the doors of the churches. Q. Is that what you meant when you said that it would seem as though the Church had disappeared? A. Yes. Q. It would be because of the persecution and not because the people would stop practicing their religion? A. Yes, but I guess a lot of people will stop. Whoever practices it will have to go into hiding. Q. Will this only be in Europe or do you think it will be here in the United States as well? A. I don't know because for me at that time, Europe was the whole world. I just assumed it was that way. The Blessed Mother didn't specify in what place. To me it looked like it was everywhere.
The Blessed Mother speaks of Abortion at Garabandal "Before, the cup was filling up. Now it is flowing over." Among the fulfilled prophecies of Garabandal was one that only came to light with the publication of a German book [Garabandal — Der Zeigefinger Gottes.] on Garabandal in 1992. The author, Albrecht Weber, was in Garabandal on the day after Conchita's last apparition at Garabandal on November 13,1965, and had a long conversation with the visionary. The following excerpt from his book deals with some of what the visionary told him: She [Conchita] spoke quite openly about the developments by which men in the near future would rebel against God. On the day after Our Lady's last appearance at Garabandal, Conchita asked the author, "Can you imagine how somebody could kill children in the womb without thereby killing the mother?" The author spontaneously answered, "No! What gave you that idea, Conchita?" "Well, the Blessed Mother spoke about this and she let me know that this will happen with the overflowing of the chalice." [In her second Message of June 18,1965, the Virgin said, "Before, the cup was filling up. Now it is flowing over."] Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, by J. Serre. page 203
OCTOBER 22: FEAST DAY OF SAINT JOHN PAUL II SAINT (Pope) John Paul II - on Garabandal There is a book on Garabandal, written by Albrecht Weber in 1993, entitled Garabandal Der Zeigefmger Gottes (Garabandal: The Finger of God), of which a first edition copy was presented to Pope John Paul II. He later asked his secretary, Fr. (now Archbishop) Stanislaus Dziwisz, to write to the author after which the Holy Father adds in his own handwriting at the end a personal greeting and his signature.. In the subsequent printing (2000 ,2nd Edition) of the book, on page 19, a portion of the Pope's message is reprinted, as follows:"May God reward you for everything. Especially for the deep love with which you are making the events connected with Garabandal more widely known. May the Message of the Mother of God find an entrance into hearts before it is too late. As an expression of joy and gratitude, the Holy Father gives you his apostolic blessing."Weber writes, "From the attached greeting in the Pope's own handwriting, with his signature, it is clear how deep an interest he has in the events of Garabandal, and how anxious he is that they should be made known in a credible way." During a special general audience with the Pope at the Vatican ... "special" because it was held on Saturday, rather than the usual Wednesday... Father Robert introduced Garabandal Visionary Mari-Loli and family to him. Father Robert who was holding 7 year old Maria Dolores, one of the three Lafleur children, said to the Pope: "Your Holiness, a special blessing for your littlest children who come on behalf of The Blessed Virgin from Garabandal." Our Holy Father exclaimed "Garabandal!" (picture below ) From “ A walk to Garabandal” Revised Edition , Ed Kelly, page 305
A Call to Repentance From the book “She Went in Haste to the Mountain” (Book 1) pg.180 Mary said : — You should avoid the wrath of the Good God. — I want to tell you to amend your lives. — You should sacrifice yourself more. — Think of the Passion of Jesus. We provoke the wrath of God upon ourselves by our own rebellion, our own disobedience, our own self-will. All evil consists in trying to follow our own ways, instead of seeking the ways of God. Our ways are very easy to follow; it suffices to allow ourselves to be led. But ours are ways of sin — and not only the sin of the world that so many new books now propose — and they lead us to destruction. On the other hand, the ways of God, how difficult they can be at times! His are the ways of triumph and salvation; but they can only be traveled thru effort and sacrifice .
TODAY IN GARABANDAL HISTORY: OCTOBER 24, 1965: LAST LOCUTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN OF MOUNT CARMEL TO MARI-LOLI The final locution, and what a remarkable one, of the Blessed Virgin to Mari-Loli, then a boarder with Jacinta, at Borja, in the College of the Sisters of Charity of St. Ann where famous Madre Maria Naya herself had spent several years: "I had a locution from the Most Blessed Virgin. She told me that I would have much to suffer in this world, that I would be subjected to many trials, that this is what would make me suffer most." I asked Her to tell me if I was to become a sister. She did not answer me. She told me that She was very happy that I was here in the boarding school. I asked Her if She would come back to speak with me. She did not answer. I asked Her to give my father a proof of the apparitions so that he might believe. She told me that he would soon believe in them and that everyone would also believe. She told me that She was very happy with my sacrifices, but that I ought to be better and more mortified in everything each day, that, as I had done until now, I ought to recite the Rosary every day, a devotion most agreeable to Her, that She loves us all very much, that She wanted us to be very good so that we may soon be together with Her in the glory of Heaven." Mari-Loli Mazon From 'Garabandal' Book, by J. Serre, pages 199-200 * NOTE The Blessed Mother can not tell Loli she will see her a few days before the Miracle ( because Loli will have passed away already in 2009 )
Today in Garabandal history: October 25, 1966 “Conchita’s Recollections”, She remembers a conversation with Our Lady Conchita: " What should I do so as not to have empty hands? I examine myself and I see that I don't do bad; but . . ." Mary: " It is not only not doing bad, but also practicing good". Conchita: "That is just what the Virgin said to me!" "She went in haste to the mountain", Book 2, Chapter 3, page 80 "Empty hands": Conchita said to the Virgin, "I am so happy when I see both of you. Why don't you take me now to heaven with you?" She replied, "Remember what I told you on your patronal feast day?" When you present yourself before God, your hands must be filled with good deeds done for your brothers and for His glory. At the present time, your hands are empty."
