Want to learn more about Garabandal, Spain? Read on for facts and info on this isolated village of Spain and the unique event that brought it into the limelight…
Popularly known as Garabandal, the official name of this Spanish rural village is San Sebastian de Garabandal. It occupies a strategic location on the Pena Sagra mountain range in the northern region of Spain. The exact location of this rural village places it within the autonomous community of Cantabria as it sits perched at more than 600 m above sea level.
The capital city of the province is Santander which is located at a distance of 35 miles from Garabandal. Roughly 250 miles separate the rural village from the capital city of Madrid. Garabandal is a small locality with a population that is even below 500.
The Garabandal Apparitions
Despite the small size and isolated location of this Spanish village it has managed to make the news more than once over the course of history. One of the very unique events that brought Garabandal into the limelight was a kind of urban legend when four schoolgirls from the village testified that they had received messages and a visitation from Saint Michael, the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. Following this event, huge crowds made their way to the village in order to witness this paranormal phenomenon. The event is known as the Garabandal apparitions and photographs and videos of thousands of people gathered in the village are still available today. This event occurred in 1965.
Garabandal is regarded as being a place of pilgrimage for the people of the Roman Catholic faith. Other denominations of Christianity also consider the place to be a holy site for different reasons. The event of the Garabandal Apparitions has however not been sanctioned or approved by the Roman hierarchy of the church. Yet devout Christians continue to make their way to the rural village. During the initial years after the occurrence, the event was under investigation, but today this investigation has long since been called off. The final responsibility has been placed on the local ordinary clergy, the mitered abbot and the bishop who have jurisdiction over the diocese in the region where this event was reported.
A final statement was issued by Bishop Jose Vilaplana of Santander to remind the Christian population regarding the true nature of the apparitions. According to the statement a committee of bishops had attested to the fact that the events that took place during 1961 to 1970 can in no way be verified and it should not be considered as paranormal phenomena. According to the local Canon Law the event was termed as “non constat de supernaturalitate” meaning that it does not establish itself as supernatural.
The town is situated in a remote location and is quite difficult to access. Because of this, the local architecture has been maintained over the years and one can see examples of traditional Spanish architecture in the village. Garabandal is not really a popular tourist destination in Spain and the only reason it came into the limelight was because of the so-called supernatural events.
