Letter to Fr. Ramón Andreu by Dr. D.C. Ortiz Pérez, from Santander, February 2, 1962 Reverend Father Andreu: I am going to tell you about the impressions of my last trip to Garabandal on January 27th. For this date, the Marquis of Santa María had already given more facts. He told me that he would see you on the next day. The event that caught my attention is that after 7 consecutive months of “marvelous ecstasies,” the four girls continue with the utmost normality, although many people “who don’t see” maintain that this is the result of a pathology. The girls continue their ecstasies the same as always, running through the streets of the village praying, with this precious transformation on their faces and movements that seem to be images. On the afternoon of the 28th, with the difference of approximately 10 minutes from one to the other, María Dolores and Conchita had ecstasies in their houses and left directly for the Church. When they met each other, they were very happy and they ran through the streets of the village singing the rosary. They visited the houses of the sick where they prayed and gave the crucifix to be kissed. It made a great impression on me when they visited a sick old man (Uncle Leoncio) who was blind, deranged, had the flu, and was in agony. They knelt at the head of his bed, praying Hail Marys without interruption, and everyone answered except the dying man. After 15 or 16 prayers, the sick man responded with ‘Holy Mary’ in a clear voice and added: “I pray because I have faith.” In this moment, they put the statue of Christ to his lips, and he kissed it. The girls had expressions of immense enjoyment. They returned to the normal state after approximately 2 and a quarter hours. These are the facts of what happened on the 28th in Garabandal. Respectful greeting from my wife—she tells what this good friend always offers. I salute you affectionately. D.C. Ortiz Dr. Ortiz taking Conchita's pulse below.
WHAT DOES PADRE PIO SAY? On January 1, 1962, on the occasion of a visit to Padre Pio, a group of Spanish pilgrims asked him whether the apparitions at Garabandal were true. He responded with his usual gruff tone: “Are you still asking this question? How many times must you ask whether the Mother of God is appearing to you when she has already been appearing for eight months?” A member of the Holy Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Monsignor Philippi, wrote: “The fact that Padre Pio, who is well known for his virtue, his knowledge and fidelity to the Holy See, said that these apparitions are good and encouraged the four little seers to make the Blessed Virgin’s messages known, is a big proof as to the truthfulness of these messages.” Document of the Marian Center in Paris 1967 Reprinted with kind permission from Garabandal Journal /March-April 2019
I found this too late on Saturday to post but you can use it starting next Saturday. Every Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (Spanish time) the "Home of the Mother" broadcasts a Rosary with songs live from Garabandal. Subscribe here! https://www.hogardelamadre.org/es/h...cyhtCSNLSLEmRs6m9kZHGJffhvMpOjzco2b4ucRshpcAc
That's a good idea for this thread. Garabandal rosary is broadcast live, every Saturday (5:00 pm, Central European Time), through the YouTube channel Hogar de la Madre and its recording remains available among the channel's videos. https://www.youtube.com/@HogarVideos I've heard it several times. These young nuns have a beautiful voice and are there even on rainy days. Last year, they used to ask at the end of the rosary if there was a priest present among the people to administer the final blessing but more recently they no longer do this, they must have a priest committed to this. There is a small detail that is immediately noticeable in this rosary, the second part of the Hail Mary is prayed with the well-known alteration of the girls of Garabandal "Holy Mary Mother of God and our mother...".
FEBRUARY 5 TO 19, 1968: CONCHITA'S SECOND TRIP TO ROME The Vatican covered the expenses of Conchita's second visit to Rome again with her mother and Fr. Luna, complete discretion being then asked to Conchita. The visionary again went to the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to be questioned but, this time, no longer by Cardinal Ottaviani. We hardly know anything more about the new encounter: Conchita, in fact, was even more discreet about this second trip than about the first. The archives of Fr. Luna, now deceased, will someday doubtless be of great use to us to know, at last, the nature of the conversations that took place then between the visionary and the Church authorities. It will a fortiori be the same for what the Archives of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith are preserving about this matter. From 'Garabandal' Book, by J. Serre,page 215
I was looking at pre-Vatican traditional Roman Calendar - Interesting that when our Lady first appeared to the girls in Garabandal on the 2nd July 1961 this was the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (this feast was moved to 31 May, which is my birthday). But when I was born on 31 May 1963 in the old calendar the feast day was the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Amazing really that my birthday coincides so much with our Lady, I am so in love with my heavenly mother that God ordained I was born on that date!
The Important Testimony of Fr. De la Riva” “Needles” Winter Issue1973, page 13 A year ago “Needles” reported that Fr. Jose Ramon Garcia De La Riva had been asked by the Holy See in May 1971, to give testimony regarding the Garabandal events. This is extremely significant for two reasons. First it shows that evidence is still being collected and examined by Rome. Second, it brings before the Holy See the testimony of a highly qualified witness. Father de la Riva who is Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows church in Barro Asturias, Spain, a village very near Garabandal, was an eyewitness to more than 200 ecstasies. During the years of the apparitions and afterwards he was able to question the Visionaries at length many times. His findings are recorded in his book “Memories of my visits to Garabandal 1961 – 68” published in 1969.
I want to wish a most Happy and Blessed 75th Birthday today to Conchita ! Having the privilege of knowing her and a being able to follow her moral and spiritual compass all these years is one my greatest blessings. Her example of humility, grace, spiritual wisdom, and sacrifice , is an example for all of us to follow and emulate. May God continue to bless her, and I ask you pray for her intentions today, thank you.
Happy 75th Conchita - thankyou for being a faithful servant of our Lady and our Lord since 1961!! God Bless you and all your family and friends.
I didn't post this yesterday because I wanted prayers for Conchita's birthday to be the topic. February 7,1966 One last word from Mari Loli (Written at boarding school run by the Sisters of Charity, Zaragoza) "I had a locution from the Blessed Virgin. She told me I would have to suffer a great deal in this world, that I would be subject to a great many trials, and that would be the cause of most of my suffering. I asked her to tell me if I would become a Nun: she did not answer me. She told me that she was very pleased that I was here at this boarding school. I asked her if she would return to “speak “ with me: she did not reply. I asked her to give proof of the apparitions to my father so that he would believe in them. She told me that he would believe “very soon”, and that everyone else would believe also. She told me she was very pleased with my sacrifices,but that I must become better each day and do more penance in all things; that I should recite the rosary every day as I have been doing, a devotions which pleases her very much; that she loves us all very much, and that she wants us all to be very good so that we may all be reunited with her in Heavenly glory. " Mari Loli Mazon “ Star on the Mountain” Chapter 52, page 124
February 9,1975 “Needles” Interview with Conchita ,meeting Padre Pio (January 1966). “I remember I had the crucifix kissed by our lady and I said to Padre Pio “This is the cross kissed by the Blessed Mother, would you bless it? He then took the crucifix kissed by our lady and placed it in the palm of his left hand over the stigmata. Then he took my hand and placed it in his palm, closing his fingers over my hand with his right hand, he blessed my hand and the cross. I was kneeling in front of him the whole time I was there. he started holding my hand with the cross while he was talking to me. “ Reprinted in “Garabandal Journal” Jan-March 2023, pages 6 & 7
Live Rosary from Garabandal Every Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (Spanish time) the "Home of the Mother" broadcasts a Rosary with songs live from Garabandal. Subscribe here : https://www.hogardelamadre.org/es/h...jExYqQii6mX0ZSE0rxjqenrv5IXL53NclQUuCRUUXuGmA
Glenn - have you any insight or information/sources to highlight how difficult it might be to get to Garabandal on the day of the Great Miracle? If the warning happens 'when things are at their worst' and the miracle is to occur afterwards then one can deduce naturally that it won't be easy to travel to Spain.
Yes my early conversations with Joey & Conchita about this , most of which is still relevant. It will be difficult because of many factors that have not changed that much over the years. No airport in Garabandal, must fly into Madrid or Santandar, limited amount of taxis, or car rentals. The main access road to the Village is better now but still limited as to how much traffic it can handle, not to mention an area to park all these buses and cars. Lodging is very limited, not to mention bathroom facilities, and places to eat. Now throw in the expected expanded Russian aggression through Europe , which I believe will effect Spain also ( when things are at their worst) , even though we are talking about the time after the Warning, will there be some lingering tensions between countries which impede traveling ? Not to mention the Spanish Police and Military will be seriously outnumbered, pray there are no problems once you get there. It will be a " Miracle" if all goes well.
CARDINAL ALFREDO OTTAVIANI Prefect for more than twenty years of the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, which, in 1966, became the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Ottaviani was, in his special function of "guardian of the faith," It was therefore, with prudence, that, one might remember, he first listened to Conchita in January 1966, at the Vatican. The initiatives that the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith took, right after his conversations with the visionary, facilitating her meeting Pope Paul VI, in private, allows us to suppose, however, that his opinion was already favorable. . . Not, however, without mentioning how Jacinta herself was to be introduced to Cardinal Ottaviani, in 1975, for we know the astonishing exhortation he then addressed to her: "We must pray a great deal, Jacinta, so that the Church may acknowledge Garabandal," after . . . having told her that he believed in the supernatural character of Garabandal . From 'Garabandal' Book, by J. Serre, page 234
“A recent interview with the Seers” “The coming Warning and great Miracle” by Anthony Ambrosio “NEEDLES” magazine July-September 1977 ,page 8 Conchita Q. Would you repeat for us what you know about the Warning? Conchita: "What I remember now is that the Virgin told me that before the Miracle God will be sending us a Warning, so as to purify us or prepare us to see the Miracle, and in this way we may draw enough Grace to change our lives towards God. She told me what the Warning consists of but not its date. I am not able to say what it consists of but I am able to say what it will be like, more or less. It is a phenomenon which will be seen and felt in all the world and everywhere I have always put as an example that of two stars that collide. This phenomenon will not cause physical damage, but will horrify us because at the very moment we will see our souls and the harm we have done, it is as though we were in agony but we will not die by its effects or perhaps we will die of fright or shock to see ourselves. May the virgin forgive me if I do not explain it the way it is but I am trying to tell you, after knowing, what the Warning will be like that day."
TODAY IN GARABANDAL HISTORY: FEBRUARY 13, 1966: CHRIST'S FINAL AND VERY REMARKABLE LOCUTION TO CONCHITA "On Sunday, February 13, 1966, at the moment of thanksgiving after Communion, I received both a great joy and a yet greater distress, as well as a disappointment! I heard the voice of Christ telling me: "Conchita, you came here to the college to prepare yourself to become My bride and, as you say, to follow Me. Are you not saying, Conchita, that you do not want to do My will? Well, now, it is your will that you want to fulfill. Do you want to do like this all your life? I chose you in the world so that you may stay in it, so that you may face the many vexations that you will find there for My sake. I want all that for your sanctification, and so that you may offer this for the salvation of the world. You must speak to the world about Mary. "Conchita, did you feel My call to become My bride? No! Because I did not call you." I asked Him: "And how does one feel Your call to become a religious?" He told me: "Don't worry about that, you will not feel it." I asked Him: "Then You do not love me, Jesus?" He replied: "Conchita, you ask me that? Who redeemed you? Fulfill My will and you will find My love. Examine yourself well. Think more of others. Do not fear temptations. If you are faithful to My love, you will overcome the many temptations awaiting you. Be intelligent, understand what I told you in a spiritual way. Do not close the eyes of your soul. Do not let anyone deceive you. Love humility, simplicity. Never think that what you are doing is great. Think of what you have to do, of what you must do, not to merit Heaven, but to save the world so that it may fulfill My divine will. Every soul that prepares itself, every soul well disposed to hear Me, will know My will. Conchita, I wish to tell you that you will suffer a great deal from now on until the Miracle, for few will believe you. Even your family will think you deceived them. I am the One who has wanted all that. I told you so, for your sanctification and for the world to fulfill the Message. I want to warn you that the remainder of your life will be a continual suffering." "Do not be afraid. You will find Me in suffering, Me and Mary, whom you love so much." I asked Him if in Rome also I would not be believed and He did not answer me. Then He told me: "Do not worry about whether or not you are believed. I am the One who will do everything, but I will also give you suffering. I will be with whoever suffers for Me." [From 'Garabandal' Book ,by Jacques Serre. pages 206-207]
START OFF LENT WITH THE MORNING OFFERING PRAYER Our Blessed Mother said in Garabandal on October 18th, 1961, "We must make many sacrifices, perform much penance, and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first, we must lead good lives. " In 1945 Jesus told Lucia, the seer of Fatima, "The sacrifice and penance I now seek and require is the fulfillment of your state in life and the observance of my laws." Whatever your state in life may be you can sanctify all your daily actions if upon arising you recite sincerely the morning offering prayer. Through the "Morning Offering of Reparation" every act you do becomes a sacrifice. The word "sacrifice" means to make "holy." Once you have made your morning offering you make "holy" every act you do throughout the day. Whatever trial God permits to pass your way during the day becomes a penance — whether it be work, bad weather, rebellious children, sickness in the family, tight economic conditions or misunderstandings by relatives or friends. All these sacrifices and penances obtain graces the Blessed Virgin needs for the conversion of sinners. Padre Pio said it best, "If you knew the value of suffering, you wouldn't give it up." Conchita suggests we all should start our day with this prayer. “ O Jesus, through the Immaculate heart of Mary, and in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being offered throughout the world, I offer you all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate heart of Mary, for my sins, and the sins of the whole world. “ Use this Morning Offering Prayer to start your Lenten season ! If you need some suggestions for sacrifices, remember these oldies but goodies. Corporal and the Spiritual acts of mercy. Corporal works: 1. Feed the hungry 2. Clothe the naked 3. Shelter the homeless 4. Visit the imprisoned 5. Visit the sick 6. Give drink to the Thirsty 7. Bury the dead Spiritual Acts: 1. Admonishment of sinners 2. Instruct the ignorant 3. Comfort the afflicted 4. Pray for the living and the dead 5. Forgive those who afflict us 6. Bear wrongs patiently 7. Counsel the doubtful
Mary gives her crown to the girls at Garabandal ! Mary graciously allowed the girls to see and touch her Crown of Stars ! In the first edition of "Conchita's Diary" Ch.4 (Oct.1961) she mentions this amazing story: The Virgin had lent her crown of gold stars to the girls and they passed it to each other. Conchita, receiving the crown, said: "Ouch, I hurt myself with one of the stars! "
