Workers of our Lady of Mt. Carmel de Garabandal

New Bishop of Santander Appointed

Our Lady and Islam

The End of Times

How to get to Garabandal

The Spanish Apostolic Nunciature announced to the Spanish Conference of Bishops at 12:00 pm today, Friday the 27th of July, that the Holy See has made public the news that Pope Benedict XVI has named as bishop of Santander, Msgr. Vicente Jiménez Zamora, currently bishop of Osma-Soria.
Msgr. Carlos Osoro, the outgoing apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Santander, asked that the church throughout Cantabria embrace with love Msgr. Jiménez, the current Bishop of Osma-Soria and future Bishop of Santander.

The Diocese of Cantabria y Valle de Mena now has its new pastor. Pope Benedict XVI announced at noon yesterday the naming of Msgr. Vicente Jiménez Zamora, Bishop of Osma-Soria, the official head of the Cantabrian church. Minutes after the papal announcement the bells of the cathedral in Santander rang for fifteen minutes to call attention to the announcement.

The new bishop will take charge of the diocese in September, exactly one year after his pre-decessor, Msgr. José Vilaplana, was transferred to the Diocese of Huelva after 15 years of episcopal ministry in Santander. The Holy See named Vilaplana its chief official in Huelva last July.

The Archbishop of Oviedo, Msgr. Carlos Osoro, who had been the apostolic administrator of the Cantabrian diocese during the year-long interregnum, said yesterday that during the three years that Jiménez was Bishop of Osma-Soria, he had shown himself to be a person both humble and approachable. "He is a man of God and of faith, with a good head for getting things done the right way".

Background
Vicente Jiménez Zamora was born in Agreda, Spain on 28 January 1944. He holds degrees in Philosophy and Dogmatic Theology, and specialized in Moral Theology at the Universities of Saint Thomas, the Gregorian, and the Alfonsina Academy, Alfonsina in Rome, respectively. He also studied for two years at the seminary in Comillas.

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Islam
Islam is an Arabic word that can be defined as "to make peace." Islam is the religion founded by Mohammed, which considers the Koran as its holy book. In addition, Islam accepts the New Testament of the Christians and the Old Testament of the Jews as Divinely inspired works. Followers of Islam are known as Muslims (also Moors, Turks, and Moslems) and, just as Jews and Christians, believe in only one God. Yet over the centuries, Muslims have engaged in tremendous wars with Christians and Jews. It would seem that there is little hope for peace. However, Heaven's Peace Plan involving Our Lady, is evidenced at Fatima, Portugal as well as other places around the world. (including Garabandal - editors note)

Fatima
The Moors once occupied Portugal. The Village of Fatima was given the Islamic name of the well-loved Princess of the nearby Castle of Ourem. She died at an early age after marrying the Count of Ourem and converting to Catholicism. Baptised with the Christian name of Oureana, she was named at birth "Fatima", like many other Moslem girls, in honour of the daughter of Mohammed. Of his daughter, Fatima, the founder of Islam, Mohammed, said; "She has the highest place in heaven after the Virgin Mary."

It is a fact that Moslems from various nations, especially from the Middle East, make so many pilgrimages to Our Lady of Fatima's Shrine in Portugal that Portuguese officials have expressed concern. The combination of an Islamic name and Islamic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a great attraction to Moslems. God is writing straight with crooked lines, as we will see. Fatima is a part of Heaven's Peace Plan. It is hope for the world.

The Koran
In the Koran, the holy name of the Blessed Virgin Mary is mentioned no less than thirty times. No other woman's name is even mentioned, not even that of Mohammed's daughter, Fatima. Among men, only Abraham, Moses and Noah are mentioned more times than Our Lady. In the Koran, our Blessed Mother is described as "Virgin, ever Virgin." The Islamic belief in the virginity of Mary puts to shame the heretical beliefs of those who call themselves Christian, while denying the perpetual virginity of Mary. Make no mistake; there is a very special relationship between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Moslems!

The Holy Land
The Holy Land has been a real battleground between the Islamic peoples and Christianity over the centuries. Evidence of this are the numerous churches and basilicas that have been built by the Church, destroyed by the Moslems, rebuilt by Catholic Crusaders, leveled again by the followers of Islam, and so on over the course of history. However, there is one remarkable exception, the Basilica of Saint Anne in Jerusalem.

The Crusaders built this church and named it in honour of the mother of the Blessed Virgin, Mary. In the Crypt of St Anne's Basilica, a statue of the Infant Mary is venerated on what is believed to be the exact spot where Our Lady was born. There, great reverence for Our Lady precluded the Moslems from destroying her birthplace. The foundation for Heaven's Peace Plan at Fatima, Portugal, can be found in the Land of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spain
As the Moslems swept through Spain in the 8th century, a great religious treasure was buried for safe-keeping in the earth, high in the Estremadura Mountains. It was a much venerated statue of Our Lady holding the Divine Child Jesus that was a gift of Pope Gregory the Great to Bishop Leander of Seville. After the overthrow of Moorish occupation, the image was uncovered in the year 1326, subsequent to a vision of Our Lady to a humble shepherd by the name of Gil. Our Lady's very special statue was enshrined in a nearby Franciscan Monastery next to the Wolf River.

The Moslems, during their Spanish occupation, had actually named the River. The Islamic term for Wolf River is "Guadalupe" (Guava = River; Lupe = Wolf). Hence, the famous Catholic image in Spain has been known, since the 14th century, by the Islamic name of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Mexico
In the fullness of time, we can be sure that Almighty God knew that the Islamic religion would pose a serious threat to Christianity. God also knew that the Spanish missionaries would face grave resistance in the 'new world' from the mighty Aztec Indians. The Aztecs worshipped an evil stone "serpent god" that demanded human sacrifice. It was extremely difficult to win souls for Christ from these blood-thirsty savages. However, with God all things are possible. Our Lady appeared to a humble Aztec Indian convert by the name of Juan Diego in 1531. When asked her name by Juan Diego, at the request of the local Bishop, Our Lady's response, in the Aztec language, included the words "tee coatlaxopcuh" (pronounced: "te quatlasupe") and meant "one who crushes the head of the stone serpent."

To Juan Diego and his fellow Aztecs, this revelation had great meaning, coupled with the miraculous image of Our Lady standing on top of a "crescent", the symbol of this evil serpent god. A tidal wave of conversions to Catholicism ensued. However, Bishop Zumarraga, who was from Spain, made what was no doubt a "heavenly mistake" that one day may lead to the mass conversion of Moslems. To the Bishop's Spanish ears, Our Lady's Aztec name of "Te Quatlasupe" sounded just like the name of the revered Madonna from Spain with the Islamic name, "Guadalupe". Hence, the bishop named the Mexican Madonna "Our Lady of Guadalupe." It is interesting that the "crescent" is also the symbol for Islam and that America's Shrine to Our Lady has an Islamic name.

Battle of Lepanto
On October 7, 1571, a great victory over the mighty Turkish fleet was won by Catholic naval forces primarily from Spain, Venice, and Genoa under the command of Don Juan of Austria. It was the last battle at sea between "oared" ships, which featured the most powerful navy in the world, a Moslem force with between 12,000 to 15,000 Christian slaves as rowers. The patchwork team of Catholic ships was powered by the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Knowing that the Christian forces were at a distinct material disadvantage, the holy pontiff, St Pope Pius V, called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory. We know today that the victory was decisive, prevented the Islamic invasion of Europe, and evidenced the Hand of God working through Our Lady. At the hour of victory, St Pope Pius V, who was hundreds of miles away at the Vatican, is said to have gotten up from a meeting, went over to a window, and exclaimed with supernatural radiance: "The Christian fleet is victorious!" and shed tears of thanksgiving to God.

What you may not know is that one of three admirals commanding the Catholic forces at Lepanto was Andrea Doria. He carried a small copy of Mexico's Our Lady of Guadalupe into battle. This image is now enshrined in the Church of San Stefano in Aveto, Italy. Not many know that at the Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain, one can view a huge warship lantern that was captured from the Moslems in the Battle of Lepanto. In Rome, look up to the ceiling of S. Maria in Aracoeli and behold decorations in gold taken from the Turkish galleys. In the Doges' Palace in Venice, Italy one can witness a giant Islamic flag that is now a trophy from a vanquished Turkish ship from the victory. At Saint Mary Major Basilica in Rome, close to the tomb of the great St Pope Pius V, one was once able to view yet another Islamic flag from the battle, until 1965, when it was returned to Istanbul in an intended friendly token of concord.

The Rosary
At Lepanto, the victory over the Moslems was won by the faithful praying the Rosary. Even though they had superior numbers, the Turks really were overmatched. Saint Padre Pio the Spiritual Father of the Blue Army, said "The Rosary is the weapon," and how right he was.

The Battle of Lepanto was first celebrated liturgically as "Our Lady of Victory". Later, the feast of October 7th was renamed "Our Lady of the Rosary" and in 1716 was extended throughout the Universal Church by Pope Clement XI (who canonized Pope Pius V in 1712).

And with that we are back to Fatima, Portugal where Our Lady, when asked her name, said:
"I am the Lady of the Rosary". At Fatima, Our Lady taught us to pray the Rosary every day. Heaven presented its peace plan at Fatima and truly gave us hope for the world. Conversions were promised at Fatima: the conversion of sinners; the conversion of Russia: and what also appears to be the conversion of Islam.

Editor's Note
Does Our Lady at Garabandal specifically mention Islam or the Muslim faith? No.
Is Islam part of God's greater plan within Our Lady's apparitions at Garabandal? Yes.

Humanity is part of God's great plan. The prophecies of Garabandal are not limited to Catholics, they are for the entire world.

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The End of Times
Many believers in the apparitions of Garabandal have been worried about the effect the death of Pope John Paul II has in relation to the predictions of Our Blessed Mother. To make the matter as clear as possible, we offer these quotes from Conchita's own diary. The Announcement about the last Pope and "the end of the Times"

It was during the early part of June 1963, the bells of Garabandal started to ring. The following conversation then occurred between Conchita and her mother, Aniceta:

Conchita: "The bells are tolling for the dead! It must be for the pope (John XXIII, 1958-1963). Now only three remain."

Aniceta: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Conchita: "It is not nonsense. The Virgin told me: After this pope there will only be three more."

Aniceta: "Then what? Will it be the end of the world?"

Conchita: "The Virgin did not say the end of the world but the end of time."

Talking to Mother Maria Nieves Garcia (Principal of school in Burgos)

Conchita: "One day I said to the Virgin, at the time of the future events (warning, miracle and chastisement), 'Will that be the end of the world?' " And she answered me "No, the end of time."

What is the meaning of "the end of the times" el fin de los tiempos"?

In English, the translation is: "the end of our epoch", or "the end of these times". It is also satisfactory to say: "The end of the present period."

Conchita told Fr Marcelino Andreu: "When you see the warning you know we have opend up the end of time."

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LOCATION
Garabandal is located in the north west of Spain about three hours drive from the French border town of Irun. It is an hour and fifteen minutes drive south of Santander, (80.6 km) a substantial coastal city where the Bishop of the diocese resides. (See Michelin map 572 Regional Espana).

TRAVELLING BY CAR
From Madrid it is a day drive. The shorter route to Garabandal is via Burgos, Corconte, Reinosa, Cabuerniga, Puentenansa and Cosio. The longer but better route is via Burgos, Vargas, Torrelavega, Cabezon de la Sal, Cabuerniga, Puentenansa and Cosio. Both routes are good. The road from Puentenansa to Cosio is undergoing major upgrading.

From Santander it is about an hours drive to Cosio. The freeway south is excellent. You take the turnoff at Pesues to Puentenansa and on to Garabandal, or you can turn off earlier to Cabezon de la Sal and travel the mountain route.

TRAVELLING BY TRAIN
From Madrid, catch the RENFE train at Chamartin station to Santander (about five hours). Book first class for more comfortable seating. Hotel Chamartin (good accommodation) is next to the train station.

From Santander catch the FEVE train to Cabezon de la Sal. This train departs every hour from 6.15 am to 20.15 pm and takes about one hour at a cost of 2.50 Euros. Take a taxi to Garabandal, about a half hour drive at a cost of 40 Euros. If none available at the station, telephone Jose on 609 442210.

TRAVELLING BY PLANE
The airport, located 5 kilometres to the east of the city centre, has domestic flights connecting Santander with Barcelona and Madrid and Ryanair International flights from London Stansted, Rome-Ciampino and Frankfurt-Hahn.

NB As Ryanair is a low cost budget airline, it is important to be aware of their strict baggage regulations. Each passenger is allowed free of charge, one piece of cabin baggage weighing no more than 120 kg with maximum dimensions of 55 cm x 40 cm x 20 cm. If your total baggage does not meet these guidelines, then refer to www.ryanair.com to check on their strict terms and conditions of travel for carrying your baggage in the aircraft hold.

There is a permanent bus service which connects Santander Airport with the city centre bus station every 30 minutes. The bus ticket costs approximately 1.6 Euros.

Additionally, Bilbao Airport, situated about 110 kms from Santander, operates international flights to and from the main European capitals. There are buses and trains to and from Bilbao Airport to the city centre, where there is a coach service to Santander.

ACCOMMODATION
Sari's Hotel offers very good accommodation, great food, wine and bar facilities. Phone number is 34 (Country code) 9 4272 7145. Miguel Angel Gonzales (the Village Mayor), also offers home style accommodation and meals. Phone number is 34 (Country code) 9 4272 7113.