I would like to welcome you to the official Garabandal apostolate website in English language , which will lead us to the mountain of Garabandal, where the Virgin Mary first appeared to four 11 and 12 year old girls on the 2nd of July 1961, in the village of San Sebastián de Garabandal, Spain, with the invocation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We invite all those who visit our page to open their hearts, so that in them the true happiness of life can flourish: to encounter Jesus, the light in the world, through the intercession of Mary.
The Garabandal Apostolate, after 15 years of work of evangelization of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Mount Carmel of Garabandal, on January 25, 2023, took the decision to take another important step in its mission: To establish a non profit charity Association.
Dear brothers and sisters, how are you?
"Garabandal is the most wonderful work of mankind after the birth of Jesus. It is the second life of the Blessed Virgin on this earth."
"It is very important to make these messages known to the world."
Pope Paul VI
"The Message given by Our Lady in Garabandal is the same as that given at Fatima, but updated and appropriate to our times."
Bishop of Leiria and Fatima
D. João Pereira Venâncio.
"May God reward you for everything, especially for the deep love with which you are making known the successes related to Garabandal, that the Message of the Mother of God be received in the hearts before it is too late. As an expression of joy and gratitude the Holy Father give yourself your Apostolic Blessing. "
Dedication of Pope John Paul II to Alfred Weber, a writer who wrote a book about Garabandal.
"It was in 1970, 18 years ago, when he first heard about the apparitions of San Sebastian de Garabandal in Spain." Sometimes it seems like it was a long time ago and sometimes it seems like it was yesterday. From the beginning I felt that events were true. "
Mother Therese of Calcutta
"Pray to Our Lady. Consecrate yourself to the Virgin of Mount Carmel". "Yes, Father, I pray to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I would like to become a Carmelite." He made no comment on this, but repeated insistently, "Consecrate yourselves to the Virgin of Carmel, who appeared at Garabandal."
"So it is true?"
"Yes, it is true!", said Father Pio.
Saint Father Pio
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Garabandal Parish
D. José Rolando Fuentes Cabeça
He is the priest of San Sebastian de Garabandal.
He was born 13 August 1944, in the town of Novales (Cantabria), he was ordained priest in the same locality on the day of his birth on 2 September 1972.
He exercised his priestly ministry in the Nansa area from the time of his ordination. He has held the position of arcipreste, Virgen de la Barquera Arciprestazgo, since 1991. Nowadays, he is in the service of 8 Parishes (Cades-Camijanes-Carmona-Celis-Cosio-Rabago-Rozadío and San Sebastian de Garabandal), where he shares his ecclesial pastoral work with ample social work.
For more information, visit their website. Click below.
Garabandal map
The map of the village of San Sebastian de Garabandal contains useful information on the various points of religious, cultural and historical interest. It indicates in a precise way, all the accesses, roads, alleys of the village and surrounding region.
00 House of Maxima, Godmother of Conchita.
01 Source.
02 House of Conchita.
03 Place of communion visible.
05 Jacinta's birthplace.
06 Public telephone booth.
07 Bus stop.
11 Cemetery
12 Birthplace of Mari Cruz
13 Ancient Chapel
14 Parish Church
19 Birthplace of Mari Loli
21 Former girls' school, today the pilgrim center.
25 Location of the first appearance of the Angel.
27 Place of the first apparition of Our Lady of Carmo de Garabandal.
30 "The Pines". Main site of the apparitions of Our Lady and of the Angel S. Michael. It will be in this place that will occur in the future, the great Miracle.
32 Alternate path for "the pines." By this way you can drive to the top. This path offers better access to this sacred site.
Garabandal patron
Saint Sebastian has been a patron in the village of Garabandal since many centuries. Below we give you some information about this Saint.
St. Sebastian (France 256-26), a native of Narbonne and a citizen of Milan, was a martyr and a Christian saint, killed during the persecution by the Roman emperor Diocletian. Its name derives from the Greek sebastós, which means divine, venerable (that followed the beatitude of the supreme city and of the highest glory).
According to apocryphal Acts, attributed to Saint Ambrose of Milan, Sebastian was a soldier who had enlisted in the Roman army around 283 AD (after the common era) with the sole intention of affirming the hearts of Christians that he saw weakened in the face of torture . It was dear to the emperors Diocletian and Maximilian, who wanted him always near, ignoring himself as a Christian, they designated him captain of his personal guard - the Praetorian Guard. About AD 286, his gentle conduct toward Christian prisoners led the emperor to summarily judge him as a traitor, having ordered his execution by means of arrows (which became his symbol and a constant in his iconography). However, Sebastian did not die, was thrown in the river, because they thought that he was dead, found very far from where it was thrown, was rescued by Irene (Santa Irene). But then, having been taken again before Diocletian, who then commanded that Sebastian be beaten to death ... But that anyway, he would not have died, properly said ... He ended up being dead pierced by a spear.
The barbaric method of execution of St. Sebastian made him a recurring theme in medieval art - generally depicted as a young man tied to a stake and pierced by several arrows (arrows); In addition, three arrows, one on a spade and two on a spade, bound by a thread, constitute its heraldic symbol.
Monastery of Santo Turibio de Liebana
If you decide to visit Garabandal, be sure to visit also this Monastery which contains the largest relic of the cross of Jesus. When the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by Muslims in the eighth century, the region of Cantabria, where this small village is situated, was the last refuge of Christians. About 30 kilometers from Garabandal is the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana. The Bishop of Astorga sent to this monastery the relic of the True Cross which is the largest remaining part of Santa Cruz where Jesus was crucified in the year 33. Around the year 770 he also lived in this monastery, the Blessed of Liébana, a wise monk whose preaching really stood out in three aspects. The first, against the Donatist heresy in which it was affirmed that Jesus Christ was the adoptive son of God. This error fit perfectly with the vision of the Islamic invaders, and in this way the Monastery was able to take refuge the archbishop of Toledo as well as other Christians that were in the regions occupied by the Muslims. Second, this Blessed made important commentaries on the Apocalypse and reflected them in manuscripts "codices" with beautiful illustrations, a new model of symbolic art that soon spread throughout Europe and is now admired around the world.
Very close to Garabandal is the town of Comillas, on the Cantabrian coast. There was founded in principles of 1892, a Pontifical Seminary of the Jesuits, that reached in 1904, the status of Pontifical University. In 1969, the colleges moved to Madrid. In this place more than 1,400 priests were formed, mainly the Jesuits, of which 61 were martyred during the Spanish civil war. Until 1990, their classrooms formed at least 63 bishops for the whole of Spain.
Spain has 69 dioceses which are currently regulated by 78 titular bishops, auxiliaries and cardinals, so it can be said that more than 20% of the Spanish bishops left this University in the second half of the twentieth century. In the last solemn message of Garabandal, Our Lady spoke about the priests.
In fact, the whole message of Garabandal is centered on the Eucharist and the Priesthood. Therefore, the appearance of Our Lady in this region can not be considered a mere chance. If the message of Our Lady is focused on the priesthood and the Eucharist, it is quite logical that she wanted to appear in one of the most important regions of Spain at the level of religious formation.
Its purpose reflects a Mother's concern for the lives of her beloved children. On several occasions, Our Lady asked in Garabandal for the sanctification of the priests, through their good example of priestly life, in this way they can save souls by directing them to God.
One of the obligatory itineraries to travel, from any pilgrim to the village of Garabandal, is the path of the "calleja", where the first apparitions of Our Lady and the Archangel S. Miguel took place.
Along this winding and difficult route, the pilgrim is invited to make a via-sacra to the place of the "pins", main place of the apparitions of Our Lady and the Angel S. Miguel in Garabandal
This path travels a huge distance, and has in place the "pins". It is indicated with a sign that says "Camino del Rosario". To walk up to the end of this journey, the pilgrim is invited to pray the Rosary (the 20 mysteries), and as you pray, meditate the mysteries.
I strongly advise this course, although it is quite difficult to do. It will take at least an hour and a half to two hours to climb the mountain. I advise you to do it early in the morning, because on hot days the route is even more difficult to achieve. The route ends when the twenty mysteries are completed, and is symbolized by a high cross seen in the mountains around the village.
The parish church of S. Sebastián de Garabandal is situated right in the center of the village. Many of the apparitions of Our Lady ended in front of the Church during the ecstatic marches. People followed the visionary girls in a state of ecstasy and all those people who followed them prayed the Rosary. Some of the apparitions also took place within the Church, by the Altar.
Carry out the "Via Crucis" along the path of the "calleja", which begins at the place where the Archangel Michael first appeared.
Adoration to the Blessed Sacrament takes place every Thursday at the parish church of Garabandal between 10:30 and 12:30. All prayer requests made during the week to Our Lady of Carmel in Garabandal are delivered during this Adoration. To order prayers online, click here.
Attend Mass in the parish church of Garabandal. To know more about the times of Masses and religious celebrations of the parish click here.
We invite all who visit Garabandal to pray the rosary. You can pray in the parish of Garabandal every day at 8:00 p.m. and you can also pray in the "pins", in front of the image of Our Lady that is placed in one of the pines.
Going to Garabandal is always an opportunity to be reconciled to God. Enjoy this time and confess yourself well. Ask the parish priest of Garabandal to confess a time before the Eucharist
We invite you to take an early morning walk on the way to the Rosary. This path is properly marked next to the "pins". The pilgrim is invited to go through and meditate on all the mysteries of the Rosary up to the top of the mountain. At the top of the mountain is a large cross.
