Garabandal, Spain
Garabandal is a small village in northern Spain, in the Santander province, near the Picos de Europa mountains, a rugged and beautiful setting.
Its full name is San Sebastian of Garabandal. It is located 600 metres above sea level, some 57 miles from the capital of the province.
To get there one must climb steep, poor roads. No more than 300 people live in Garabandal. The town is impressively quiet.
There is no doctor in the town and no resident priest at the parish church. The priest from Cosio, the next town down the road, used to celebrate Mass there on Sunday.
On the evening of June 18, 1961, four girls were playing on the outskirts of the town - Conchita Gonzalez, Maria Dolores (Mari-loli) Mazon, Jacinta Gonzalez and Maria Cruz Gonzalez (not related despite having the same name.) Maria Cruz was eleven, the others twelve, and all were from poor families. Suddenly they heard a loud noise, like thunder, and saw before them the bright figure of the Archangel Michael.
On the following days the Archangel appeared to them again in the same place. He announced that on July 2 they would see Our Lady. This was the beginning of the Garabandal events.
News spread quickly. On July 2, many priests were among the numerous visitors who joined the villagers to witness the great event. At about 6pm, the children were headed for the spot where they had been seeing the angel when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared with an angel on each side.
They recognised one of the angels as the one who had been appearing to them (later identified as St Michael the Archangel) and the other looked identical. Above the Virgin was a large eye that the children thought to be the eye of God. They spoke openly and familiarly with their Heavenly Mother and said the rosary in her presence. Over the next year-and-a-half she would appear many times.
To confirm the supernatural character of the events, St Michael told Conchita that on a certain date, the invisible Communion he had been giving her would become visible on her tongue.
So, in the early morning hours of July 19, 1962, she left her house in ecstasy, turned a corner, and fell to her knees in an adjacent street.
As the crowd pressed around her, she put out her tongue and those just inches away affirmed that it was bare and the mouth empty.
Then, faster than the eye could see, a brilliant white Host appeared on her tongue.