By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer

Mari Loli Lafleur, one of four children from Garabandal, Spain who allegedly saw the Blessed Virgin on numerous occasions between the years 1961-65, died on April 20 at the age of 60.

According to a report by Pewsitter.com, Mari Loli had been ill for some time after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and Lupus in 2002 at a Boston hospital.

Joey Lomangino, the founder of the U.S. based apostolate for Garabandal issued a brief statement on April 21 announcing her death.

The apparitions occurred between 1961 – 1965 in the small village of Garabandal located 55 miles southwest of Santander, Spain. There has been no official statement issued from Rome regarding the Church’s opinion on the events of Garabandal. Local bishops have long been skeptical of the events even though they have never been officially condemned or approved.

However, it is worth noting that in his  “Official Note” of July 8, 1965, Bishop Eugenio Beitia of Santander wrote, “We point out, however, that we have not found anything deserving of ecclesiastical censorship or condemnation either in the doctrine or in the spiritual recommendations that have been publicized as having been addressed to the faithful, for these contain an exhortation to prayer and sacrifice, to Eucharistic devotion, to veneration of Our Lady in traditional praiseworthy ways, and to holy fear of God offended by our sins. They simply repeat the common doctrine of the Church in these matters.”

The Garabandal Prophecies are most famous for the prediction of four supernatural events:

• A worldwide warning to be experienced by everyone on earth. Its purpose would be to call humanity to amend its behavior and return to God.
• A great miracle that will occur in the late winter or early spring within one year after the warning.
• A permanent sign that will remain for all time at a pine grove near Garabandal. 
• A terrible chastisement or punishment that is conditional to some extent, based upon how well mankind heeds the messages of Garabandal.

Mary Loli was the only seer, who knew the year of the warning. Conchita, another one of the visionaries, knows the nature of the great miracle as well as the exact date – and has been charged with announcing this to the world eight days before it happens.

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