San Sebastian de Garabandal Divine warning

   Pines on the slope mark the place
    of the vision of Our Lady, a future
    miracle and a permanent omen.

   San Sebastian de Garabandal is a small hamlet high in the mountains of northern Spain, in the Santander province.
   Several visions were recorded there since 1961. The visionaries were four little girls: Maria Conchita Gonzales, Maria Dolores (Mari-Loli) Mazon, Jacinta Gonzales and Maria Cruz Gonzales. The latter was 11 years old at that time, whereas the other girls were 12.
   The girls first saw an angel on June 18, 1961. They saw the angel eight more times in the following days. The news quickly spread in the neighbourhood. The vision on Thursday, June 22 was witnessed also by a priest from Cosia. He watched everything carefully and believed it. The same happened on the next day, too. The priest questioned each child separately and concluded that their accounts were identical.



Conchita, Jacinta, Mari-Loli and Mary Cruz (from left to right)
in ecstasy during  a vision. An examining physician is on the left.

   The Santander bishop soon appointed an investigation commission. To its session on July 27, 1961 the commission invited also Conchita. She arrived with her mother and priest don Luis. In the middle of a busy street in front of a church, Conchita went into esctasy. From there she was drawn, kneeling, into the shrine. Among the people who ran to help her were a couple of physicians. They tried to straighthen Conchita's body, but failed. Conchita's mother: "Conchita stretched herself and all her body hovered in the air. She touched the ground only with an elbow ..."
   In 1962, these children went into estasies almost every day. They became a typical feature of the village of Garabandal abound with tourists, newspaper correspondents and cameramen. The girls went into ecstasy anytime and anywhere - outdoors, at home, in the narrow village streets, in the cemetery, while visiting the ill or praying the rosary.
   On June 19, 1962 while in ecstasy, Jacinta and Loli saw pictures. They ran backward crying to the village as if fleeing a terrible danger. This scene was filmed and the film still exists.
   The children's behaviour repeatedly defied static laws of our three-dimensional world. They moved forward without walking, seemingly being pushed, not only standing, but also kneeling, across mud or rocks at any hour by day or night, in sunshine or in pouring rain. The complelling evidence of the girls' esctatic behaviour and all related supernatural phenomena comprises a number of films and photographs.
   The children in ecstasy fell to their knees so violently that the witnesses feared they could sustain an injury. Yet, they were always unharmed and never felt pain. Some physicians burnt the girls in ecstasy or pricked them with syringes, but they felt no pain whatsoever. They never winked when dazzled abruptly. They were neither physically, nor psychically exhausted after their ecstasies, they did not breathe deeply after running and the rain did not make them wet.
   Constable Alvarez who with his fellow officers took care of the children witnessed more than a thousand ecstasies: "I saw Conchita "hovering in the air, in the emptiness, without being held by anyone, as if she leaned on a support." (Such cases of levitation were quite common and are documented by ample photograhic evidence).
   On July 2, 1961, a crowd of people gathered here including physicians and priests. At six o'clock p.m. the girls had a vision of Our Lady with two angels, one of whom was the Archangel Michael. The children described our Divine Mother as a beautiful woman roughly 18 years old. She wore a white dress, a blue cloak and a brown amulet on the right hand. A crown of twelve stars rested on her head. She had a dark brown hair with a parting in the middle of her head. She identified herself as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
   The most important thing about the visions of Our Lady in Garabandal was a grave message which Mary gave to the girls. Its meaning is associated with Our Lady's warning in Lasalette back in the 19th century and sheds light on the grave warning from Fatima.
   On July 18, 1965, two thousand people from across the globe gathered in Garabandal. The Italian and Spanish television came too. At half past eleven at night, Conchita set out on a trip to a group of pines, the place of the visions. There she went into ecstasy for 16 minutes. She had a vision of St. Michael who gave her a message that was published next morning: "As my message of October 18 (1961) has fallen on deaf ears and the world remains ignorant of it, I tell you, this is the last one. My patience is great, but is going to run out soon. A number of cardinals, bishops and priests are heading for damnation and take many souls with them. The Holy Sacrament becomes less and less important. Your efforts should avert God's wrath from you. If you ask for His forgiveness with a frank heart, He will forgive you. I, your Mother, through Archangel Michael, ask you to change your life. Now you are getting the last warning. I love you a great deal and do not want you to be damned.
   Pray frankly and we will make your calls true. You should make more sacrifices. Think of how Jesus was tortured to death."
   Our Lady's first message passed in Garabandal on July 4, 1961 was interpreted by the girls on October 18, 1961 as follows: "You must do more penance and make more sacrifices. You must frequently attend the Holy Sacrament. But above all you must be very good, because if you are not, you will be punished. God's patience is running out and if you do not amend your lifes, a harsh punishment will come."
   Our Lady notified the girls that the WARNING was coming. Conchita wrote down an excerpt which she handed over together with an explanation to father Laffineur, a French priest. The girls later commented on the excerpt.
:

Conchita: "It is like a retribution, so that the righteous approached God and the others got a warning. I can't tell you what the warning will be like. It will be something ... that comes directly from God and will take place in heaven. It will be seen in any place throughout the world. All people will feel it and will be scared. It will last just a short time. As an internal vision of his sins, the warning will be for everyone, for both believers and unbelievers.
   All nations will feel it at the same time. No one will run away from it. Even if you lock yourself up in your room and shut the windows, you will not escape it. The best thing to do then is to go to a church where Jesus will give us power to bear it. The warning will be like a clean up before a miracle. It will be a supernatural phenomenon and science will fail to explain it. Those who do not know Christ will believe that it comes from God.
   I believe that the world is not incurably hardened. Everyone, irrespective of his whereabouts, will directly meet God. He will face God alone, just with his conscience. Then people will see their sins and their causes. Everyone will see the omen, mercy or punishment inside himself. Different people will feel it differently since it will depend on our conscience. The warning will be very personal, hence each of us will react to it in a different way. It will be essential to recognize our own sins and their bad consequences. We must always be prepared, have our soul in peace and not to be associated too closely with this world."

Loli: The warning will last just a few minutes. All motion on earth and in the air will come to a halt. Even aircraft in the air will stand still for a while.
   We will feel all the bad things we have done. It will be a feeling of sorrow and pain inside us stemming from our insults to God. People must get ready for this event, do more penance, make sacrifices and attend the Holy Sacrament, ideally every day, and to pray rosary daily. (Loli is the only one who knows the year when the warning is due to come. But she declined to tell, even to a priest).
   The warning will come at a time when religion will be very difficult to practice. It will have to be done secretely. I can only tell you that the warning is very close and is very grave."

Jacinta: "The warning will be first seen in the air all over the world, but soon afterwards it will penetrate inside our souls. Although actually very brief, the warning will seemingly last ages because of its great impact on us. Then we will feel deep affection to our Divine Father and Mother and will beg them to forgive us all our offences. We should be prepared for this day rather than wait for it in fear as God does not send us messages to scare us, but for justice and love. He does it for the benefit of all His children so that they could enjoy eternal happiness and were not damned.
   Our Lady said that the warning would come when the situation is at its worst, a state for which mainly communism would be to blame. She urged us to pray in order to avert this."
   Soon after the warning, the girls say, a great MIRACLE will happen.

Conchita: "Our Lady told me the exact date of the miracle and described exactly how it would look like. I should make it public a week in advance. The ill, who will witness it, will be healed, irrespective of their illness or religion. Sinners will make amends for their sins. Witnesses to the miracle made by God through the Virgin will not doubt any more. Hence let's await this great day of a miracle today to see if the world is amending and the retribution will be averted.
   The miracle will take place in the "Pines" area in Garabandal (the place of the visions of Our Lady). It will be visible from all parts of the natural amphitheatre. It will last about a quarter of an hour and the media will spread it throughout the globe. Visible marks will be left in the "Pines". The miracle will be aimed to convert the whole world. Russia will be converted too, and everyone will love Jesus' and Our Lady's Hearts.
   The miracle will happen on a Thursday at 20.30 o'clock soon after the Warning. It will be the feast of a saint dedicated to the Eucharist. This date will coincide with a major religious event. It will be an event completely unheard of, something miraculous, as precious as, for instance, the declaration of a religious dogma. It will come soon, but I can't reveal it sooner than 8 days in advance.
   From then on, a permanent sign will be located near the pines which anyone will be able to see and touch, but not to feel it physically. I can't explain why. It will be like smoke.


Father Luis Andreau
Father Pio

   This extraordinary event will have impact on the whole church. It will occur on the same day as the miracle, but otherwise will be unrelated to it. Such an event rarely happens in the church, and it has never happened during my life.
   Eight days before the miracle, soon after midnight, I will call the radio, television and everyone in the world whom I consider fit to spread the news quickly. I'm waiting. The Divine Mother never cheats. The miracle can be expected between March and May. It will be preceded by an increased number of false visions throughout the world."

Loli: "The warning and the miracle will happen in one year."

   Father Francois Turner, a Garabandal historian, adds that the miracle will occur between the eighth and sixteenth day of a month. He also says that the Garabandal events and messages do not contradict the church teachings.
   The girls testify that if the messages are ignored, the miracle will be followed by a punishment.

Conchita: "I can't reveal of what kind the punishment will be. I can just say that it will come directly from God. The punishment, if it does materialize, will follow a great miracle, but I do not know how long the gap between the miracle and the punishment will be. Let all Catholics shrive themselves before the retribution.
   The others should regret and correct their wrong-doing. Jesus does not threaten us to suppress our courage, but to rebuke us."

Loli: Engines and machines will stop running. A heat wave will cause insatiable thirst."

***

   In 1961 - 1965, the girls had several visions of Our Lady every week. The girls were not always together during the visions. They happened at the same time on the same day. A total of 2,300 ecstasies were registered from the first vision in 1961 to the last one in 1965.
   Jesuit father Luis Andreau visited Garabandal for a third time on August 8, 1961. He wanted to see the events about which he was skeptical. During the vision he saw something which was was not revealed to the others. Suddenly, he shouted aloud four times: "Miracle!"
  At night the Fontaneda family drove him home. During the drive he told them of his deep im  pressions: "I am so happy! Oh, what a beautiful Mother we have in heaven! This is the happiest day of my life!" Some minutes later he died of a heart attack.

Conchita: "We saw him (father Luis). We have never seen anyone in ecstasy, but father Luis. Our Lady told us that father Luis could see her and could also see the miracle that would come later. She told us that father Luis' body would be found intact on the day of the miracle."
   The events in Garabandal were investigated by a number of prominent physicians. They all agreed that science cannot explain what happened there.

Dr. Gasca Ruiz and Dr. Ortiz Gonzales: "We have found no convincing scientific explanation of these phenomena."
   When investigated by a commission in 1965 - 1966, the girls expressed doubts about their visions and some of them withdrew their testimonies. The children experienced great stress at them time. For example, Conchita was interrogated by a bishop for seven hours. Her mother took her away from the school when she heard about it. Conchita now attributes her doubts at that time to human weakness, cowardice and demonic effects.
   The girls - now married women - are firmly convinced that all that really happened and they had no hallucinations.
   The esctasies were observed by hundreds of physicians who repeatedly diagnosed them as inexplicable, and numerous churchmen saw and heard the miraculous phenomena for themselves, yet a 1961 - 1962 commission ruled that the Garabandal events were not supernatural!
   On the other hand, the bishop of Santander and the commission have never officially declared the events untrue.
   Father Francois Turner, O. P. from Blois in France investigated the Garabandal visions and issued the publication 24 Criteria to Support the Authenticity of Garabandal: "I am now confident that Garabandal was authentic."
   In 1971, Juan Antonio del Val Gallo was assigned to the Santander diocese. He was a former member of the commission who believed in the authenticity of the visions. In 1991, the investigation was completed and a report was sent to cardinal Ratzinger of the Congregation for Religious Teaching Issues in Rome where it is being studied. Today's bishop Vilaplana considers the Garabandal issue unresolved.
   Bishop del Val Gallo: "The previous bishops ruled out the possibility that the visions might be supernatural, but have never deplored then - no, they have never used that word. The messages say nothing contradicting Christ's teachings."
   Upon special request of the secretary of the Congregation for Religious Teaching Issues cardinal Ottaviani, Conchita came to Rome in 1966. She conveyed the information on the expected miracle to Ottaviani and to the Pope Paul VI. Then the Pope said about Garabandal: "It is the most beautiful incident of mankind since the birth of Jesus Christ. It is like Our Lady's second life on earth. One can hardly find words to thank Her. Conchita, I and with me the whole Church bless you."
   Conchita now lives with her husband in New York. Loli and Jacinta have moved to the USA, too. Maria Cruz continues to reside in Spain.
   On one vision Our Lady told Conchita: "Father Pio will see the miracle too."
   Father Pio met Conchita in San Giovanni Rotondo in 1966.

   Father Pio later gave father Pellegrini a personal message for Conchita. The message together with a veil which covered father Pio's face after his death was handed over to Conchita by father Cennamo. He also told her that father Pio saw the miracle before his death and told him about it.

Conchita: "I wrote having the veil before me. Suddenly, the whole room was filled with fragrance. It was so strong that I burst in tears."
   In May 1962, an angel told Conchita that God would perform a miracle to make people believe in him. An angel will celebrate Eucharist and everyone attending it will see the Sacred Host on Conchita's tongue. The angel urged her to notify people of this in advance.

   On June 18, 1962, the village of Garabandal was teeming with pilgrims. At night Conchita went into ecstasy and walked out to the street. Amidst a crowd of people she fell to her knees. People lit her from all sides. She opened her mouth and put out her tongue on which there was nothing. Seconds later a white Host appeared on Conchita's tongue and remained there for several minutes.

Don Alejandro Damians, a merchant from Barcelona, made 79 pictures of this extraordinary scene. He wrote a report which together with the film he sent to the bishop of the Santander diocese. The event was seen by a great number of witnesses.
Don Benjamin Gomez, a farmer from the village of Potos, said: "I stood close to the girl, barely at a distance of an armlength. I could see clearly that she had nothing on her tongue. She was motionless. All of a sudden, the Sacred Host appeared there. It was white and lustrous. It resembled snow illuminated with sun beams. We had enough time to watch this marvel. Until then I was an atheist. I was not interested in God, except for one case when I insulted Him. I confessed after 23 years."
   Although Conchita announced the date of the Holy Eucharist beforehand, no member of the commission attended it ... (!).


Conchita's miraculous Eucharist from the hands of St. Michael.