Garabandal

Conchita Gonzales, one of the four alleged seers of Garabandal, in a color photo taken circa 1961 

There have been thousands upon thousands of reported apparitions to various individuals from the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and various saints. Holy Mother Church, in Her wisdom, would investigate any such serious claim and declare it "worthy of belief," reject the apparition as false, or render no judgement pending further proof. To show how solicitous the Church is for the eternal welfare of Her members, very few apparitions have met with approval. The manifest weight of the credible evidence must fall down squarely on the side that Heaven has spoken, so that no one should be lead astray by frauds, the mentally ill, or the deceits of Satan. Only the following Marian apparitions have Church approval pre-Vatican II (since there is currently no authority to pass judgement during the Great Apostasy) and notice how few there are; only ten (10):

1. Our Lady of Guadalupe (took place 1531; approved 1555)
2. Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (took place 1830; approved 1837)
3. Our Lady of LaSalette (took place 1846; approved 1851)
4. Our Lady of Lourdes (took place 1856; approved 1862)
5. Our Lady of Knock (took place 1879; approved 1879)
6. Our Lady of Fatima (took place 1917; approved 1930 by the local bishop and in 1940 by Pope Pius XII)
7. Our Lady of the Good Event aka Our Lady of Quito (took place 1594-1634; approved 1611 while still taking place)
8. Our Lady of Hope (took place 1871; approved 1872)
9. Our Lady of Beauraing (took place 1932-1933; approved 1949)
10. Our Lady of Banneux (took place 1933; approved 1949)

There are seven cases where the Holy See and local Ordinary have not pronounced directly on the supernatural character of the apparition, yet have implicitly attested to their veracity by approving the public religious activity inspired by the apparition and/or authorizing liturgical veneration:

1. Our Lady of the Pillar (took place 40 AD while Mary was still alive; considered the first Marian apparition wherein Our Blessed Mother assisted the Apostle St. James the Greater)
2. Our Lady of Walsingham (took place 1061)
3. Our Lady of Mount Carmel (took place 1251)
4. Our Lady of the Watch (took place 1490)
5. Our Lady of Siluva (took place 1608)
6. Our Lady of Pellevoisin (took place 1876)
7. Our Lady of Zion (took place 1842)

Hence, from the year 40 AD to 1958, we have only 17 apparitions of Mary that have explicit or implicit Church approval. Since the Great Apostasy, ushered in by the Robber Council of Vatican II, has Mary stopped appearing? The majority of these approved sightings took place in the 19th and 20th centuries. Could it be that the end is at hand, which is why she appeared then and now appears no more? Perhaps she is appearing, but we have no authority to declare them worthy of our belief?  I have frequently wrote against those I label "Apparitionists:" They are people who exalt private revelations and apparitions whether approved by the Church (such as Our Lady of Fatima) or not (such as Our Lady of the Roses) over the teaching of the Church. They obsess over the alleged "true meanings" of messages (as if salvation depended on them), or even accept them to the exclusion of authentic Church doctrines in some area(s). The late "Fr." Gruner falls squarely in this category.

Personally, I don't think Traditionalists should concern themselves over private revelations. To make the terminology clear, "private revelation" has nothing to do with the number of persons that claim to have seen and/or experienced something. "Public Revelation" refers to the Divine Deposit of Revelation given to the Church for all human being to believe, so that they may be saved. Public Revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle, St. John, in 100 AD. Private revelation refers to all communication by God (directly or indirectly) with humans after Public Revelation ended. I can't stress strongly enough that no private revelation, including those deemed "worthy of belief" by the Church, need to be accepted by Catholics. You can reject any or all of the above Marian apparitions and you would not be a heretic, nor would you commit a sin.

This does not mean that private revelations are "useless." Obviously, if the Church approves something as worthy of belief, we can believe it without fear of sinning against faith or morals. God communicates to us for a reason. However, I refuse to get drawn into arguments over what a particular apparition or a particular revelation "really means." Moreover, it is by studying the approved theologians that we can learn the One True Faith and make our Catholic way the best we can through these most difficult times.To be certain, I believe in approved apparitions without making them the focus point of faith. I have devotion to Our Lady of Hope and Our Lady of Fatima. I wear the Five-fold Scapular, pray the Rosary daily, insert the "Fatima Prayer" at the end of each Rosary decade, and try to attend Mass every First Saturday of the month. These are great Catholic devotions all Traditionalists should try to maintain. I do not view "Consecrating Russia" as some panacea to the Great Apostasy. Nor will I quibble over specific sayings Our Lady is supposed to have said.

I found myself thinking about private revelations recently, when a good and faithful Traditionalist priest I know told me that a couple of years ago, he visited Garabandal, Spain, to pray where the alleged apparitions of Our Blessed Mother occurred from 1961-1965. I was quite surprised he believed in their authenticity. Garabandal happened on the cusp of the Robber Council. Roncalli was the false pope at the start of these "apparitions," yet no formal heresy had yet been declared, and most bishops had Ordinary jurisdiction. By November 21, 1964, the Vatican II sect would be formally established with the signing of the heretical document Lumen Gentium by Montini (Paul VI), and the supposed apparitions would end the same year as Vatican II in 1965. Garabandal was neither approved nor condemned at the time. The Vatican II sect made the following declaration in 1970 through the so-called "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (sic):

The Holy See has always held that the conclusions and dispositions of the Bishop of Santander [Garabandal lies in the Diocese of Santander] were sufficiently secure guidelines for the Christian people and indications for the Bishops to order to dissuade people from participating in pilgrimages and other acts of devotion that are based on claims connected with or founded on the presumed apparitions and messages of Garabandal. In order to reply to certain doubts that you expressed in your letter this Sacred Congregation wishes to assert: that the Holy See has never approved even indirectly the Garabandal movement, that it has never encouraged or blessed Garabandal promoters or centers. Rather the Holy See deplores the fact that certain persons and Institutions persist in formatting the movement in obvious contradiction with the dispositions of ecclesiastical authority and thus disseminate confusion among the people especially among the simple and defenseless. 

While it states clearly that the sect has never approved Garabandal, it has never been condemned by them, as was the case in many false apparitions, such as the (obviously fake) "Our Lady of the Roses" originating in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

My purpose in writing this post is twofold:
1. To set forth the criteria of the Church regarding how She judges private revelations, and
2. To apply this set of criteria to the alleged apparitions of Garabandal

In so doing, I hope for my readers to understand how spiritually dangerous it is to be overly concerned about private revelations, and why I personally (when applying the criteria of the Church) reject Garabandal. I have used two main sources in the compilation of this post: Visions, Revelations, and the Church [1961] by theologian Volken, and The Mystery of Garabandal [2015] by L.R. Walker. Walker is a "conservative" convert to the Vatican II sect, who believes in Garabandal, yet does an excellent job of presenting all aspects of the case. The book is thoroughly researched, including interviews with the still living seers and other first-hand accounts.

Garabandal: A Brief Background

The village of San Sebastian de Garabandal, Spain was a quaint place of about 75 houses in 1961. It was thoroughly Catholic, as one could only expect from the Spanish pre-Vatican II. The villagers stopped work every day to pray five decades of the Rosary together, and every evening a different villager would walk the streets and ring a hand bell to call the people to pray for the repose of the souls in Purgatory, and recite family nighttime prayers immediately after. Going to daily Mass was the norm.

It was in this place on June 18th that four young girls (three 12 year olds and one eleven year old) were involved in stealing apples from a teacher's tree that evening. The girls were Mari Loli Mazon (b. 1949 – d. 2009), Jacinta Gonzalez (b.1949), Mari Cruz Gonzalez (b.1950) and Maria "Conchita" Concepción Gonzalez (b.1949). Gonzales was a common name. Jacinta was the cousin of Conchita; there was no other relationship. Conchita was considered the smartest, prettiest, and most mischievous. She would be considered the "principle seer" of these private revelations, just as Lucia was so considered at Fatima.

According to an "official" Garabandal website, the girls suddenly heard a sound like thunder.

There before them was a radiant angel. He said nothing and soon vanished. Pale and visibly shaken, they ran to the village church and told of the apparition. Over the next few days, the girls continued to see the angel. On July 1st he spoke: "Do you know why I have come? It is to announce to you that tomorrow the Blessed Virgin will appear to you as Our Lady of Mount Carmel." (See https://www.garabandal.us/garabandal)

The main message from "Mary" was this:

We must make many sacrifices, perform much penance, and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first, we must lead good lives. 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.

There are predicted three great events that will befall humanity:

• The Great Warning, when all living people will see their sins, as if reflected in a mirror, and will understand what they must do to repent
• The Great Miracle, which will take place within one year of the Great Warning. It will leave a permanent sign in Garabandal, which can be seen and photographed, but not touched or explained by science
• The Great Chastisement, which is something horrible that will befall the world if humanity does not properly respond to the Warning and Miracle.

The parents of the girls were skeptical, but soon the whole village was believing, and people began flocking to the tiny village to find out what the messages were all about, and hoping to see something supernatural. On June 18, 1965, Conchita received the "final message" of Garabandal exactly four years later. She was now 16 years old, and the Robber Council would close on December 8th. The message was made public on or about July 2, 1965. It read:

As my Message of the 18th of October has not been complied with, and as it has not been made known to the world, I am telling you that this is the last one. Previously, the Cup was filling; now, it is brimming over. Many priests are following the road to perdition, and with them they are taking many more souls. Ever less importance is being given to the Holy Eucharist. We should turn the wrath of God away from us by our own efforts. If you ask His forgiveness with a sincere heart. He will pardon you. I, your Mother, through the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel, wish to tell you that you should make amends. You are now being given the last warnings. I love you very much, and I do not want your condemnation. Ask Us sincerely and We shall grant your plea. You must make more sacrifices. Reflect on the Passion of Jesus.

On the surface, there seems to be nothing contrary to faith and morals. It looks like there will be scary things ahead for the evils perpetrated by modern society. There even appears to be a stinging indictment of Vatican II with "priests... following the road to perdition, and with them... taking many more souls." However, there are many (and disturbing) facts left out from this sanitized version of the story which Garabandal supporters will hide. The only believer in the apparitions who has even attempted to explain these serious problems away, is the aforementioned author, L.R. Walker (who is intellectually honest, but whose defense of Garabandal fails). Before turning to the particular problems, the teaching of the Church on private revelations will be set forth next. 

The Criteria of the Church When Discerning Private Revelations

As explained by theologian Volksen in detail, and reproduced by me in outline form, some of the pertinent criteria in discerning private revelations are:

1. Every revelation must be rejected a priori if its context is opposed to Church teaching. In places where the Scripture speaks most explicitly of the discernment of spirits and where it urges Christians to "try the spirits if they be of God," it gives only one criterion which is of a doctrinal nature. "By this the spirit of God is known:every spirit which confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God: and every spirit that dissolveth Jesus is not of God." (1 John 4: 2-3). That must be understood as teaching that every private revelation which does not confess Christ as God, and in anyway derogates ("dissolveth") Him by rejecting the teaching of His One True Church, is not of God and must be rejected.

2. A medical examination of all seers should be had to determine physical and psychological soundness. If the seers are healthy in mind and body, this constitutes support for a favorable judgement. If it can be established that the seer(s) showed all the symptoms of hysteria or other mental illness when receiving the revelations, a favorable judgement cannot be reached.

3. The seers should have deep humility (not seeking self-glorification), be obedient to proper ecclesiastical authority, and have fortitude. Fortitude is necessary, as the seer(s) will be pressured to recant and in many cases persecuted/threatened (e.g., St. Bernadette and the three children of Fatima). While they need not be saints, they should display innocence and piety.

4. The revelations must be of a serious nature and not frivolous or overly concerned with mundane things.

5. Any indication of natural explanations and/or fraud must be ruled out to allow for a supernatural character.

The (Disturbing) Facts of Garabandal

1. On the Garabandal website, https://www.garabandal.us/, it says, "On June 18, 1961, four girls, Conchita Gonzalez (12), Mari Cruz Gonzalez (11) Jacinta Gonzalez (12), and Mari Loli Mazon (12) were playing on the outskirts of the village when they heard a sound like thunder." 

Problems:

• The girls were not "playing"--they had committed sin by stealing apples. 
• They had felt guilty and decided to "throw stones at the devil" who is "to the left side"
• When they heard the thunder they felt thrust onto their knees as if by some unseen force

When they went into "ecstasy" and had visions, they were bent over backwards and walked that way so quickly, many of the villagers had a hard time keeping up by running forwards. Last year a movie about Garabandal was released (see https://www.garabandalthemovie.com/en/). The movie accurately displays how Conchita looked in this state--see picture below:

Immediately, it reminded me about a movie poster from a horror movie concerning possession:

Walking and doing things backwards is also a sign of the Satanic. Moving backwards is exactly what occultist Aleister Crowley wrote about in his book Magick in Theory and Practice:

 First Method. Let the Exempt Adept first train himself to think backwards by external means, as set forth here following.

(“a”) Let him learn to write backwards, with either hand.

(“b”) Let him learn to walk backwards.

(“c”) Let him constantly watch, if convenient, cinematograph films, and listen to phonograph records, reversed, and let him so accustom himself to these that they appear natural, and appreciable as a whole.

(“d”) Let him practice speaking backwards; thus for “I am He” let him say, “Eh ma I”.

(“e”) Let him learn to read backwards. In this it is difficult to avoid cheating one’s self, as an expert reader sees a sentence at a glance. Let his disciple read aloud to him backwards, slowly at first, then more quickly.

(“f”) Of his own ingenium, let him devise other methods. 

(See online at http://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/lib913.htm; Emphasis mine)

2. The “Virgin” asked that the girls not bring blessed sacramentals [rosaries, crucifixes, etc.], because she wanted to bless these objects herself. The vision is reported to have blessed and kissed hundreds of objects, such as pebbles, which were treated as "sacramentals." This is troubling for two reasons: first, because only blessed sacramentals affect the devil and fallen angels; second, the Blessed Virgin Mary is not a priest and therefore she cannot confer a priestly blessing--especially upon mundane objects like pebbles.

3. A priest, Fr. Luis Andreu, went with the children as they marched backwards into the woods like they had "wings on their heels." He then claimed he believed in the apparitions and was "overwhelmed with joy." While telling all this to Fr. Valentin, the pastor of the village church, Fr. Andreu suddenly declared that he felt sleepy, lowered his head, coughed, and died on the spot. The priest was young (not more than 40 years old), and had no history of heart problems, no family history of heart problems, and had not been seriously ill. Garabandal supporters claim he "died from joy." It was claimed by the seers his body would be found incorrupt.  When his body was exhumed, it was decomposing normally. Defenders of the apparitions claim that his body will become incorrupt after "The Great Miracle." My readers can correct me, but I've never heard of a saint's body going from corruption to incorruption. Moreover, the seers never said this beforehand, it was made up post factum upon finding his body in a state of corruption.

4. At the death of Roncalli (John XXIII), many people wished the Council to end. Conchita said that she knew that the next "pope" would continue the Council, and she was happy about it.

5.  Conchita and the seers were often found in contradictions regarding the dates of the alleged "Great" miracle, warning, chastisement, etc. 

6. The children would often open their mouths and stick out their tongues while St. Michael the Archangel would give them "invisible Holy Communion." To end the incredulity of some, Conchita claimed God would prove this was true. On July 18, 1962, during a nighttime ecstasy, there is film footage of what appears to be a Communion Host appearing on Conchita's tongue which she then consumes. Conchita reportedly admitted to Father J. Pelletier that she herself had stolen the Host from the tabernacle of the Church and placed It on the roof of her mouth, letting It drop down on her tongue for the so-called "mystical Communion." 

7. Many men testified that while in their ecstasies and on their knees bent backwards, the girls were rigid and impossible to move. It was if they were frozen and weighed hundreds of pounds. The men of the village could neither lift or move small, thin girls. 

8. Conchita reportedly said the Blessed Mother "played hide and seek" with her.

9. All four children signed a document with the Vatican II bishop agreeing with the findings of the  Counterfeit Church and promising never to promote the apparitions again. Does that sound like something real seers would do? The children at Fatima refused to retract what they had seen and heard even when an evil man threatened to kill them unless they did so. The girls at Garabandal later retracted their retraction. 

10. The Night of the Screams: This point is worthy of special mention as those who accept Garabandal use it to assert the apparitions were a warning against Vatican II. This event was actually over two nights; June 18 and 19, 1962. Two of the seers, Mari-Loli and Jacinta went into the woods on the edge of town. They went into ecstasy on their knees and they shouted to "Mary," --"Don't tell us these things!" They then screamed all night in such a terrifying manner that the whole village was up and afraid to approach them. The other two seers remained in the village. The sounds were so frightening, here's what a burly villager said in an interview: "Look, I don't want to brag, but I'm a man, it might be said, who doesn't know fear..but on those nights of the screams, with everyone together in darkness, in silence, hearing the girls' sobbing and screeching in the distance, I shook so that my knees knocked against each other so much I couldn't stop them. You can't imagine what it was. I have never experienced anything like it." (Testimony of Mr. Pepe Diez, stonemason in Garabandal).

On the second night, Conchita joined them in the screams. Only the prayers of the villagers made the screams subside. Every single resident of Garabandal asked their priest to hear their Confession the next day. What caused the screaming? They were allegedly told that prior to the three "Great" events, the Church would be nearly destroyed and the Mass would nearly disappear. They also saw the "reappearance"  of Communism.

Was this a vision of Vatican II, and a major resurgence of Communism post 1989? Consider this: What could be more frightening than seeing Hell? Yet when the three children at Fatima were shown Hell by the Blessed Mother, there was no screaming. And why would the Blessed Mother inflict such fear for two whole nights? I can only imagine how frightening seeing little girls bent backwards in the woods at night screaming at the sky with unearthly sounds for hours must be.

11. At the last appearance in 1965, Conchita claimed that Archangel Michael had to tell her the message because "Mary was too upset to speak." She stood under the Cross of Her Son, but couldn't deliver a message from Heaven?

12. In 1966 Conchita wanted to enter the Carmelite Convent in Pamplona. "Jesus" told her to go back to the world (!) The Garabandal messages acknowledge the validity of Vatican II, the false religion it created, and its false popes.

13. Joseph Lomangino, a blind man, was promised by "Our Lady" that she would restore his sight on the day of the "Great Miracle." Mr. Lomangino died on June 18, 2014 at the age of 86 at his home in New York. Rather than admit this "prophesy" was false, promoters and defenders of Garabandal point to the fact that he died on June 18th--exactly 53 years after the first "apparition" and there is some "mystical significance." Perhaps he recovered his sight spiritually, not physically, etc.  Yet the Great Miracle did not occur, and they can't escape that fact.

14. Two of the "seers" admitted to hiding a statue of the Blessed Mother in the woods so they could claim Mary told them where to go and find it. They did this (allegedly) because they were jealous that "Mary" talked to Conchita the most.

15. Where are the seers today? Mari Loli Mazon came to the United States and lived in New Hampshire until her death in 2009, just before turning 60 years old. Jacinta González became Jacinta Moynihan and lives with her husband and daughter in California. Mari Cruz González lives in Aviles, Spain with her husband and four children. Conchita made a museum of her house in Garabandal. She has since sold that house and owns a house in New York with her husband and a flat in Fatima as well. Compare that with St. Bernadette in Lourdes. Conchita (like the others) all attend the Vatican II sect. Sadly, Conchita lives within an hour of the SSPV, SSPX, and Fr. DePauw's Ave Maria Chapel, none of which she will attend, because she fully accepts Vatican II.

Conclusion

I hope that it is clear why I reject Garabandal, and equally clear why giving undue emphasis on private revelations in spiritually dangerous. We have the teachings of the Church, as well as the True Mass and sacraments, to lead us to Heaven. Yet there are people trapped in the Vatican II sect because Garabandal tells them to remain there. Was Garabandal the work of the devil, a fraud, or both? Who knows and who cares? What's really important is learning the Faith through the approved pre-Vatican II theologians.

As to the Traditionalist priest I know, I don't understand his reasoning. I'm not at liberty to say more about what he said, but he will not loose his faith because he knows that private revelations are not dogma and should not dictate what we believe and what we do. For that we turn to Holy Mother Church.