The Virgin Mary has appeared repeatedly, urging her children to love and repentance. Are we listening?
By Inside the Vatican staff
Hilltop view of Garabandal, Spain, where four children spoke with Our Lady.
The four child seers at the time of the apparitions
In the small village of Garabandal, nestled in the picturesque mountains of northern Spain, a series of extraordinary events unfolded in the 1960s that would captivate the world and leave a lasting impact on the hearts of many. The village became a focal point for numerous reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary, witnessed by four young girls.
The story begins on the evening of June 18, 1961, when four young girls, Conchita González, Mari Cruz González, Jacinta González, and Mari Loli Mazon, claimed to have encountered St. Michael the Archangel while playing on the outskirts of the village. This celestial visitation marked the beginning of a series of apparitions that would capture the world’s attention for years to come.
After the initial encounter with the Archangel Michael, the girls started experiencing apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These apparitions took place over a period of several years, eventually attracting thousands of pilgrims from around the world. According to the seers’ accounts, a tender Virgin Mary appeared to them with messages of love, repentance, and the need for prayer and sacrifice.
During the apparitions, the Virgin Mary conveyed numerous messages to the girls, urging them to pray the Rosary, make sacrifices for sinners, and seek the conversion of hearts. She foretold a series of supernatural events that would serve as signs to strengthen faith and lead humanity back to God.
These prophecies included a warning: “The Cup is already filling and unless we change, a very great punishment will befall us.”
These prophecies included a warning: “The Cup is already filling and unless we change, a very great punishment will befall us”
One of the remarkable aspects of the apparitions in Garabandal was the girls’ state of ecstasy during their encounters with the Virgin Mary. Witnesses, including those shooting film on-site, recorded seeing the girls in a trance-like state, often falling to their knees or becoming immobile as they communicated with Our Lady. Other miraculous phenomena were also reported, such as the girls’ ability to remain unharmed while kneeling on sharp rocks or the inexplicable fragrance that would emanate from them during the apparitions.
The events of Garabandal continue to spark interest and debate among believers and skeptics alike. The Catholic Church has not officially approved the apparitions — but it has not condemned them either, rendering so far the judgment that the supernatural character of the apparitions has not yet been established. Regardless of official recognition, Garabandal has become a place of pilgrimage for countless individuals seeking spiritual nourishment and an encounter with God’s merciful care for his children.
The faith and innocence of Conchita, Mari Cruz, Jacinta, and Mari Loli have inspired many to reflect on their own spiritual journeys and the importance of prayer, sacrifice, and conversion of heart. In fact, there is nothing “new” in the messages reported by the girls from Our Lady and Our Lord; they are the perennial counsels that have been urged on us sinners since Apostolic times.
Nevertheless, the phenomenon of Heaven touching earth to remind us of these truths is a singular gift to all who receive its message with open hearts.
Where Our Lady speaks to us
Pilgrims praying in the grotto, Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Lourdes, France.
Bernadette Soubirous
14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous saw “a beautiful lady”
That’s why Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages is leading a group of pilgrims to Garabandal August 2229, 2024 — and beyond. We have crafted a sevenday spiritual journey through the heart of Europe that will encourage us to open our own hearts to this message.
The pilgrimage begins in Bilbao, Spain. Known for its cultural treasures and warm hospitality, Bilbao is a perfect starting point for reflection and prayer.
From there, our seaside route takes us to Garabandal itself, where we will spend three nights and have plenty of time to attend Mass, and spend time with one of the seers, Jacinta, and her husband, as well as exploring other sacred sites associated with the apparitions.
After we immerse ourselves in the spiritual legacy of Garabandal, we will travel on to another Spanish city with a powerful Catholic legacy: Loyola. It is the birthplace of the great St. Ignatius, spiritual master and founder of the Jesuit order. Loyola is also home to one of the most stunning Baroque Basilicas of Europe, overlooking a pristine valley in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa. The Basilica is part of a series of buildings that surround the “Holy House,” the actual birthplace of St. Ignatius. We will visit the very room where St. Ignatius prayed and began his conversion.
A grotto in France
Garabandal is not the only place where Our Lady has come to earth to speak to her children. Our pilgrimage takes us into France, to the site of another apparition, which occurred in 19th-century Lourdes when a poorly-educated, 14-year-old miller’s daughter, Bernadette Soubirous, saw “a beautiful lady” in a grotto while out gathering firewood.
Bernadette is a canonized saint today, and the simple message of “the beautiful lady” — who identified herself by saying “I am the Immaculate Conception” — is today more compelling than ever: “Pray for sinners!” and “Penance! Penance! Penance!”
Visit with us the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, commemorating the Virgin Mary’s appearance to young Bernadette. Pilgrims can take part in the celebrated candlelight processions, experience the healing waters of the Grotto, and join fellow pilgrims in prayer and reflection.
We spend our last night in Toulouse, known as “The Pink City” because of its common use of rose-hued terracotta bricks in its buildings. Toulouse’s history and architecture span millennia: from its ancient Roman founding, through its Medieval prominence as a center of learning (birthing in the 13th century one of Europe’s first universities) and faith (the cradle of the Dominican Order, Toulouse was bequeathed the bones of Thomas Aquinas by Pope Urban V in 1369 — and we will visit and venerate them), to its modern status as the center of the European aerospace industry.
Join us in August as we pilgrimage to Garabandal and Lourdes for a soul-enriching experience in sacred places where Heaven meets earth.
Join Us!
Pont Neuf in Toulouse, France
Experience with us the tender solicitude of Our Lady for her children, as part of Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages’ Signature Spain and France: Pilgrimage to Garabandal and Lourdes 2024 August 2229, 2024. We spend 3 nights in Garabandal, visiting the seaside towns of Santander and San Vicente de la Barquera along the way. Then we stop in Loyola, birthplace of St. Ignatius, and historic San Sebastian. In France, we will visit St. Bernadette’s Lourdes and then Toulouse, city of culture, history and faith, where St. Thomas Aquinas is buried.
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