The Light bulb story As told by The Chief of the Civil Guard, Juan Alvarez Seco. “One day María Dolores ( Mari Loli ) was on the second floor of her house where she had apparitions many times. Her father Ceferino had said that, when they came down from there to the floor below where the tavern was, they would unscrew the light bulb since there was no switch to turn it off. Loli, while putting her hand on the bulb this time, fell into ecstasy, and she didn't take away her hand. We all feared that if she continued like this, holding onto the lit light bulb, she would burn her hand. Her mother said, “Heavens, take away the light bulb!” However all our efforts were useless. Then we called Mari Cruz who wasn't in ecstasy, and she—with the greatest of ease—made Loli let go of the bulb. Her hand was not burned. Then the girl went down the stairs and continued her ecstatic march “. Barcelona, March 7, 1969. Juan Álvarez Seco.
Why the late hour visitations ? When the children were asked why the Virgin came at such late hours, they answered that the Virgin told them that it was at that time most of the sins of the world were committed and that they should do penance... And for them it was a penance, and not the smallest, to stay up until the Virgin came to visit them, late in the night, or very early in the morning. They performed this penance because the Virgin wanted it and also because they wanted to see her again. From “Memoirs of Spanish Priest” pg. 51
HAIR DRY IN THE RAIN ,miracle witnessed by Don Placido Ruiloba. “As the ecstasy was prolonged and the pathways became more difficult to traverse, my arm got tired from holding the umbrella and I closed it even though the rain continued without letup. I accompanied the girl (Conchita) for twenty minutes and was soaked through and through; my feet were swimming in my shoes. At the end of twenty minutes, we passed before a house lit by a small electric light bulb which enabled me to see to my amazement that the shoulders and head of the girl were completely dry. To make sure I passed my wet hand three times through her hair and dried it as if I were using a towel. All this I affirm, and would swear to it with my hand on the holy Gospels. “ “Garabandal Journal” Sept.-Oct. 2005
PADRE PIO'S BELIEF IN GARABANDAL : Joey Lomangino’s recall of the when he talked to Padre Pio: “We made arrangements to come back again that same day and greeted Padre Pio in the cloister. When we knelt down, we said to him, “Padre Pio, is it true that the Virgin is appearing to the four girls of Garabandal?” And he said, “Yes.” We said, “Padre Pio, should we go there? He said, “Yes, why not?” And that’s how it happened. Because I received the assurance from Padre Pio that the Virgin was appearing and that he permitted me to go, then I wasn’t afraid and I went. “ Saint (Padre) Pio affirms Garabandal to a PH.D in confession. Joachim Bouflet,PH.D. went to Padre Pio for confession in July of 1968. Padre Pio told him "Pray to the Madonna. Consecrate yourself to the Virgin of Carmel." "Yes, Padre, I pray to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. For that matter, I would like to become a Carmelite." He didn't comment on this but repeated with insistence, "Consecrate yourself to the Virgin of Carmel who appeared at Garabandal." Bouflet:"So it's true?" Padre Pio : "Certo e vero!" ("Yes, it's true!") “While he was living, the same Padre Pio guaranteed the authenticity of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin. He met Conchita at San Giovanni Rotondo. Even during the last days of his life he talked about this to his brothers in religious life and left a personal message for the principle personage of the apparitions. “ Fr. Pelletier -“Our Lady comes to Garabandal” page 219 From the book “The Final Hour “ page 141 On the topic of Padre Pio ‘s belief in Garabandal: “Asked on another occasion about its authenticity, he answered curtly, ”How many times must she appear there to be believed ?
Padre Pio's visit to Garabandal in bilocation! Conchita had written to Padre Pio requesting his advice on various subjects that concerned her, and before the letter had time to reach San Giovanni Rotondo, a group of Padre Pio's spiritual children composed of five Italians, one Frenchman, one Canadian, one Filipino and a Belgian priest, visit her in Garabandal, announcing to her the visit of Padre Pio to respond directly to her questions. Then, on October 10, 1967, through a phenomenon of bilocation (the capacity of one person to be present in two places at the same time), Padre Pio's visit to Conchita took place at her house, where he was about an hour . She can see his figure, unmistakable habit, hear his voice, kiss his hands and notice the penetrating and characteristic perfume that comes out of his wounds. During his visit, he said among other things that he had been in Garabandal four times and, as proof of the authenticity of his presence, he writes in a letter in Aramaic the phrase "in union of prayers" and signed P Pio. Note: It must be reported that Padre Pio never left during his entire religious life, from the Convent in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. His visit to Garabandal only happened by the process of bilocation that only happen to some saints. 10-10-67 Retrieved from the book "Garabandal 67, spiritual chronicle of a year"
April 11, 1993, Interview with Conchita’s oldest brother, Serafin Gonzalez. Fashions dragging girls to Hell ? Question: “ What did the Virgin say to the girls about fashions? “ Serafin: ”She told them that fashions drag people to hell and they should dress with decency and modesty if they want to be saved. These were her words. Much more meaningful now than it was back then when you consider the disaster all around (with the fashions). It didn’t make much sense back then, but it does now.” “GARABANDAL” magazine, July-September 1993
I know its yesterday's date, but its too important to not get posted, so I'm posting today. HOLY THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1963: "AN AMAZING "SENAL" ("SIGN") WILL REMAIN AT THE SITE OF THE PINES, . . . UNTIL THE END OF TIMES"! On this Holy Thursday, Conchita learned about the future "Senal," the Sign which, right after the events of the "D" day(The Miracle) will stay at the site of the Pines until the end of times, in the form of a luminous column, a kind of cloud by day and fire by night." This phenomenon will symbolize, through its obvious biblical, ecclesial and eschatological connotations, the presence of God in the midst of His people, so enlightened and guided in its worldly journey towards the "Promised Land." At the very spot where this prodigious "Senal" will emerge, a sanctuary will eventually be built in honor of the Archangel St. Michael, "Protector of the People of God." We may also note that this great "Sign" will necessarily have a profound affinity with the very nature of the Miracle to come. It will not only be visible for everyone, but it will even be possible to photograph and televise, but not touch, such an extraordinary supernatural phenomenon. From '’Garabandal,Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary’' , by Jacques Serre, page 172
April12,2026 TODAY IS DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN DIVINE MERCY AND GARABANDAL THE PASSION "Fix your gaze upon the Passion of my Son." --- Our Lady to Faustina (St. Faustina’s Diary, 449) "Think about the Passion of Jesus," --- Message of Our Lady of Garabandal, June 18, 1965 APPEARANCE OF OUR LADY "I saw the Mother of God in a white garment and blue mantle with her head uncovered." (August 15, 1935) (St. Faustina’s Diary, 468) "The Blessed Virgin appears with a white dress, blue mantle and a crown of small golden stars." [but no head covering] --- Conchita's Diary (On one occasion Our Lady appeared as above however without her crown.) HUMILITY AND SIMPLICITY "I keep company with you as a child to teach you humility and simplicity." --- Our Lord explaining to Faustina why He sometimes appeared to her as the Child Jesus (St. Faustina’s Diary, 184) "Love humility, simplicity." --- locution of Conchita with Our Lord, February 13, 1966 NOT FOR YOU ALONE "The graces I grant you are not for you alone, but for a great number of other souls as well." --- Our Lord to Faustina (Diary, 723) "I have not come for you; I have come for everybody." --- Our Lord to Conchita, July 20, 1963 ABORTION "I was seized with such violent pains that I had to go to bed at once ... Jesus had me realize that in this way I took part in His Agony in the Garden, and that He Himself allowed these sufferings in order to offer reparation to God for the souls murdered in the wombs of wicked mothers." --- September 16, 1937 (St. Faustina’s Diary, 1276) "Can you imagine how somebody could kill children in the womb without thereby killing the mother? ... Well, the Blessed Mother spoke about this and she let me know that this will happen with the overflowing of the chalice [of iniquity]." --- Conchita to Albrecht Weber November 14, 1965. HUMBLE AND PROUD "He [God] is well pleased only with the humble; He always opposes the proud." --- Our Lady to Faustina (Diary, 1711) "What God loves most is humility; what most displeases Him is pride." --- Words of Our Lady at Garabandal as recounted by Conchita to Sister Maria Nieves in Burgos on April 19, 1967 COMMUNION FROM AN ANGEL "I saw at my bedside a Seraph who gave me Holy Communion ... This was repeated for thirteen days..." (St. Faustina’s Diary, 1676) “The angel appeared to us with a goblet that looked like gold ... and then he gave us Holy Communion. He gave us Holy Communion over a long period of time." --- Conchita's Diary . Reprinted with kind permission from GARABANDAL JOURNAL July-August 2004
APRIL 13, 1962 A sacramental communion given by St. Michael to Conchita in ecstasy at the Pines, on the feat day of St. Hermenegild, a martyr of the the Eucharist honored as the “Clovis” of Spain. From the “GARABANDAL” BOOk, by J. Serre, p.130 Before anyone jumps to any conclusions about him being the “ young martyr of the Eucharist” for the Miracle date, there plenty of problems in qualifying. Several possible problems with St. Hermenegild, who by some accounts was Spanish, and Conchita said the martyr saint was not Spanish. We have no idea how old he was, though he was a grown, married man leading a revolt, so it would be clear to that this was not a boy and he does not fit the description Conchita gave us of the boy. “The Miracle will be on the feast day of a young martyr of the Eucharist, a boy who carried Communion to persecuted Christians. So I believe he is not the “martyr “ in question.
What More Do I Need to Believe? Many times during the apparitions Our Blessed Mother would kiss wedding rings. With this gesture she shows us, without using any words, the importance she gave to marriage and the family. Many people had conversions seeing the quantity of rings that were given to Our Lady to kiss and how each ring always went back to the right person. Among many of the stories we know, we bring to you a story which was told by Maximina Gonzalez (Conchita’s Aunt) about a ring that belonged to Maria Luisa Salazar and her husband from Bilbao. This couple reached Garabandal when the apparition had already begun. Everyone knew that once the apparition had started, the girls did not collect any more objects to be kissed. However, seeing that this couple had come from so far away, Maximina Gonzalez, a lady from the town, made her way through the crowd and placed Maria Luisa’s husbands’ ring in Conchita’s jacket pocket. “She did not see me put the ring in her pocket, nor did anyone else. I stayed close behind her and I heard her say, ‘I have a ring in my pocket?’ And she put her hand in it. ‘Who put it there?... Oh, kiss it!’ And it seems that Our Lady kissed it. She stopped walking in the direction that she was going in her ecstasy and started to walk backwards, further and further, a few feet in total, until she reached the man. She took his hand and put the ring on his finger. The man said, "My God, what more do I need to believe? " PHOTO :Maximina
Maximina's Key Very few, if any, of the houses in San Sebastian de Garabandal are in the same condition that they were years ago when the apparitions first began. . The house of Maximina, Conchita's aunt, is no exception, but for one thing. The front door, now time and weather worn, is the same one that was there in 1961. Maximina, who presently lives part of the year in an apartment in Santander, could certainly afford to replace the door, but because of the following episode, she has chosen not to do so. Maximina still has her key and the door. One day either in 1961 or 1962, Conchita went out to work in the pastureland higher up in the mountains. One hour later, Maximina left her house to join her, but, as she closed the door behind her, she left the key in the lock. Several hours later, Maximina returned only to find that the key was gone. She searched high and low but to no avail. For the next two days, Maximina was without the key until finally, on the third day, she decided to present her problem to Conchita. It was a simple enough request to ask the Virgin the whereabouts of the missing key. Shortly after that, Conchita fell into ecstasy at night near Maximina's house. Bystanders could hear her speaking to the Virgin about the key but because the girls in ecstasy always spoke in low, husky whispers, the people couldn't make out what she was saying. One person must have heard the visionary mention the pile of fire wood near the front door and went with a flashlight to take a look, but found nothing. A few moments later Conchita, in ecstasy, walked up to the front of the house and with her head tilted sharply back and eyes facing upward, reached down into the pile of wood and pulled out the lost key. Then, after holding it up to the Virgin with the crucifix she had in the other hand, and still facing upward, she plunged the key in one deft motion squarely into the lock in the door. Maximina now had her key back, right in the place where she had left it-and much more. "You notice that my door is very old," said Maximina, "but because of this I still have it." And the key also. As happened so often at Garabandal, Our Lady had turned simple, ordinary objects into very precious souvenirs. PHOTO: Maximina From GARABANDAL JOURNAL, January-February 2003
Mary says the word "Purgatory" ! "GARABANDAL" Magazine, April 16, 1983 Interview with Jacinta Gonzalez Moynihan Q. “ Did the Virgin ever speak about Purgatory?” A. “ Yes” Q. “ Did she actually use the word Purgatory ? “ A. “Yes, because she said many souls go there”. (Reprinted in the GARABANDAL Magazine July-September 1983 Issue, page 6
Fr José Ramón García de la Riva testimony. Fr. José Ramón García de la Riva , pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows, Barro (Llanes), Asturias. Personally witnessed approximately 200 ecstasies in Garabandal which he tells of in his book, "Memoirs of a Spanish Country Pastor." The interview was conducted on August 5, 1971, in his office in Barro. Concerning the latest developments relative to the apparitions at Garabandal, there is one detail which I think is very important order to demonstrate that the Holy Office has not as yet taken a position, either for or against, regarding the events in that village. In fact, my own archbishop, Gabino Diaz Merchan, on May 21 of this year, 1971, in a private conversation lasting half an hour at Llanes, after having directed a spiritual retreat for the priests in our archdiocese, told me that the Holy Office was asking him for certain information and particulars concerning Garabandal, of which he was ignorant, but that he knew I had published a book in English on the subject. I told him that the one which had been translated into French was much more important as it contained some significant documents. This conversation, which we can consider as a direct and official intervention from the Holy Office, through the intermediary of the archbishop, in order to secure information, clearly shows the Holy See has not closed its file, as some people imagine and have even published, but rather that Rome continues to accept relevant documentation for and against which will one day permit the Holy Office to pronounce a definite judgment to which I, as a loyal son of our Holy Mother Church, will submit.¹ It is the first time that I have been officially (although privately) asked for some documents on what I have seen as an eyewitness. The Santander Commission has never acted that way with me. From : GARABANDAL-THE VILLAGE SPEAKS, pages 106-107 ** As I have explained countless times, the file is still open on Garabandal because Conchita gave the date of the Miracle to the Vatican in January of 1966, and they have not rendered a decision on purpose until the Miracle date comes to fruition.
