Our Lady of Mount Carmel of Garabandal
Europe · Spain
What happened
Between 1961 and 1965, in the Cantabrian village of San Sebastián de Garabandal, four girls—Conchita González, Jacinta González, Mari Loli Mazón, and Mari Cruz González—claimed to have first seen the Archangel Michael and then the Virgin Mary, whom they called Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Numerous apparitions and ecstasies are recounted, including ecstatic falls and backward walking. Two main messages were disseminated, in 1961 and 1965, along with the announcement of a "Warning," a "Miracle," and a possible "Punishment." Many of these elements belong to local religious tradition; not all are documented in official sources, and some specific details lack confirmation.
The message
The two messages being disseminated focus on conversion, penance, the Eucharist, and fidelity to priests. These calls, in their essential content, coincide with what the Church has always preached: prayer, penance, and sacramental life.
The sanctuary or place today
In Garabandal, a remarkable popular devotion persists more than sixty years later, evidenced by the presence of votive offerings and testimonies of graces received. The celebration of the Eucharist and normal sacramental life are permitted, but there is no record of official approval of the site as a sanctuary based on apparitions, nor authorization of public worship of the "Virgin of Garabandal" as such by the diocese.
The Church's position
Jurisdiction lies with the Diocese of Santander. All diocesan bishops since the 1960s have maintained the same position: between 1961 and 1970, they concluded that the supernatural nature of the apparitions could not be confirmed. In October 2022, the then Bishop of Santander, Monsignor Manuel Sánchez Monge, reiterated that Rome's assessment that "there are no signs of supernaturality" remains valid. This is equivalent to the classic "non constat de supernaturalitate" (it is not established that it is supernatural): Marian devotion in general is not condemned, but the authenticity of the apparitions is not recognized. It is worth recalling that, according to the Norms of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith of May 2024, the Church, as a general rule, no longer declares the supernatural nature of these phenomena, but rather issues prudential judgments on the pastoral appropriateness of the devotion. Garabandal has not been approved.
Prudence and discernment
Repeated episcopal statements have indicated the absence of sufficient signs of supernatural origin, and the Church trusts in the judgment of local bishops. Some messages have been interpreted in a sensationalist or apocalyptic light, with predictions of future dates or events, something the Church always considers with extreme caution. It is important to distinguish documented history from later elaborations. One can venerate the Virgin Mary, pray the Rosary, and attend Mass, without considering as supernatural what the Church does not recognize and without building one's life of faith on unapproved prophecies.
Link with the Rosary
The title under which the Virgin was invoked, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, is linked in popular piety to the Rosary and the scapular. Praying the Rosary is always a sure path of Marian prayer, regardless of any judgment regarding the extraordinary nature of the event.