Fifth Visionary

(Fr. Luis Maria , S.J., was the only person besides the four children to see the Blessed Virgin at Garabandal, and the only person
to see in advance, the great Miracle (Padre Pio also saw the great Miracle shortly before he died in September 1968), which Our Lady promised will take place at Garabandal in the future time appointed by God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An artist's depiction of the scene at the pines on August 8, 1961, when Father Luis Andreu was seeing a vision of the future Miracle Of Garabandal

On August 8; 1961, Fr. Luis went to Garabandal with a group of friends. It was his second visit to the village. That evening the visionaries had an ecstatic march, the first of many such marches during the years of the apparitions. It was a very long march which ended at the pines. Fr. Luis and many other people followed the visionaries. Afterwards, Conchita wrote in her Diary :

"It was dark when the Blessed Virgin appeared to us. At the end of the rosary, the four of us went into ecstasy and we began to walk toward the pines. When we arrived at the pines, Fr. Luis Maria, who had followed us, said, `Miracle, miracle,' and he kept staring upward. We could see him. Now, in our ecstasies we never see anyone (except the Blessed Virgin). But we saw Fr. Luis, and the Blessed Virgin told us that he was seeing her and the Miracle, too."

"In the ecstasy, the children saw Fr. Luis on his knees. Conchita further stated that the Virgin, who was looking at Fr. Luis, seemed to say to him, "You will soon be with me."

"The Happiest Day of My Life"
Fr. Luis left Garabandal in a jeep with friends that same night. Stopping at Cosio, he met the parish priest, Fr. Valentin Marichalar, to whom he said, "Don Valentin, what the children say is true, but I ask you not to repeat what I have just told you, for the Church can never be prudent enough in this kind of affair." Fr. Marichalar wrote these words of Fr. Luis in a notebook that very night.

Continuing his journey with Rafael Fontaneda and his family, Fr. Luis showed overwhelming joy the entire trip, constantly repeating,

"I am so happy. What a favor the Blessed Virgin has bestowed on me. How fortunate we are to have a mother like her in heaven ! There is no reason to fear the supernatural life. The girls have given us an example of how we must act with the Blessed Virgin. There is no doubt in my mind that the things involving the girls are true. Why should the Blessed Virgin have chosen us? This is the happiest day of my life."

As the car was passing through Reinosa, Fr. Luis, after repeating these words once again, lifted his head and fell silent. His friend Fontaneda asked him, "Father, are you all right?" "Yes, I am just sleepy," came the reply. Then his head bowed forward onto his chest. He made a slight coughing sound, and died. He experienced no pain, nor death agony, but died with a smile on his lips.

Fr. Luis' involvement in the Garabandal events did not end with his death. The girls often spoke with him after his death. Conchita relates in her Diary entry of August 16, 1961 : "...at eight or nine o'clock in the evening, the Blessed Virgin ... said to the four of us, `Father Luis will come now and speak with you'. A moment later he came and called us one by one. We didn't see him at all but only heard his voice. It was exactly like the one he had on earth. When he had spoken for a while, giving us advice, he told us certain things for his brother, Fr. Ramon Maria Andreu. He taught us some words in French, in German and in' English, and he also taught us to pray in Greek."

Fr. Luis also sent a message through the girls to his mother. Fr Luis' sudden death was a great shock to his mother, for Father has been in excellent health. On the day he died, she was packed and waiting for his return from Garabandal because together they were going to Germany. But, instead of seeing her son with his usual. big smile, she received a death notice. Therefore, to console his mother, Fr. Luis sent, through the girls, this beautiful message : "Be happy and content, for I am in heaven and I see you every day." A short time later Fr. Luis' mother realized her long-time ambition, which was to enter a convent.

Fr. Luis was buried in the Jesuit cemetery in Ona, Spain. In a locution of July 18, 1964, the Blessed Virgin told Conchita that on the day after the great Miracle to come, the body of Fr. Luis will be removed from the grave and will be found incorrupt, just as it was on the day he was
buried.

A Good Tree Bears Good Fruit

Fr. Luis Andreu was born on July 3, 1923, at Bilbao, Spain, of a religious family. Of his five brothers, three became Jesuit missionaries: Alejendro in South America, Ramon in California and Marcelino in China (he is now in Taiwan). On July 18, 1965, during a Mass celebrated at Garabandal by Fr. Marcelino, Conchita had a locution in which the Virgin said that Fr. Marcelino Andreu of China will be in Garabandal on the day of the great Miracle. In another locution, Conchita learned that Fr. Alejendro of South America will also be in the village for the Miracle.

Like his brothers, Fr. Luis had volunteered for the missions as well and was headed for China with his brother Marcelino. A Jesuit friend seeing that the mother was to be separated from all four of her priest sons, spoke to the Jesuit Superior. Thus it resulted that Fr. Luis was to remain in continental Europe in order to be closer to his mother. Looking at it now, we can see that Divine Providence had ordained that Fr. Luis be in Spain and ultimately become an integral part of the Garabandal event.

A Saintly Priest

Fr. Marcelino recalls a memorable incident which took place on the day of Fr. Luis' first vows in the year 1944. Luis and Marcelino were walking with their mother on the grounds around the house of Loyola They came to a small window behind the Chapel of the Conversion of St. Ignatius. From this window they could see the altar and the Blessed Sacrament. Their mother took this opportunity to tell them once more of her love and her heart's desire for them. She told them that they should promise very sincerely to Our Lord before the Blessed Sacrament to dedicate
their lives to becoming real saints. Fr. Luis put his hand over his heart and closed his eyes for a moment as in deep prayer. Fr. Marcelino, while watching Fr. Luis, was sure that he was again making the promise his mother had asked: the dedication of his entire life toward perfect holiness and sanctity. Fr. Luis followed this with seventeen years of faithful service in the Society of Jesus.

When Fr. Marcelino made his first vows in 1946 and was going to the Junioret for studies, Fr. Luis asked permission to stay with his brother for a few days at Altuna, so that he could personally initiate his younger brother into a life of perfect dedication. There are two things Fr. Marcelino vividly remembers that Fr. Luis stressed in a very special way at that time. One was that although high achievement in studies was important, to be excellent in the practice of virtue and striving for sanctity was more important. The other thing stressed by Fr. Luis was how to say the Rosary and how to say it well. He explained all fifteen mysteries to his brother with special emphasis on the Visitation which Fr. Luis said was Our Lady's perfect example of charity and that we should live our lives for others as Our Lady did.

His Last Letter

From the contents of Fr. Luis' last letter to Fr. Marcelino we can get some insight into his personality and the preparation, through suffering, that God was making for his departure from this earth. Fr. Marcelino describes:

" . . . In it (the letter) he speaks of his sufferings of the past year. He said he had never suffered so much as in this past year. Everything seemed to be turning to the opposite way, he says. Yet, those who were close to him during his last year on earth did not detect any of his inner sufferings for outwardly Fr. Luis was always happy, pleasant to deal with, always ready to help and always joking. He even joked on his way to Garabandal the first time. He was telling the others, `Let's eat good and plenty for St. Ignatius said if our mind and body are weak, we will be easily deceived by the devil'. But once he got up to Garabandal and saw the girls in
ecstasy, he became deeply impressed because he realized this was not just `a child's play' as some were saying, but something very serious and deserving of much attention."

He Is in Heaven

Fr. Luis was exceptionally intelligent and was sent to study in Innsbruck, Rome, Geneva and Paris. He became an expert in languages. Besides his native Spanish, he spoke German, French, Italian, Latin, Greek and English.

On July 30, 1955, at Ona, Spain Fr. Luis was ordained a priest forever by Archbishop Federico Melendro of Anking, China. Fr. Luis celebrated his first Mass on the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola at the Chapel of Loyola. One can imagine the joy that filled his angelic heart !

A little later, after he received his Doctorate in theology, Fr. Luis joined the Jesuit faculty in Ona and became professor of theology. This is the position he held when he heard about the apparitions which were taking place at Garabandal. Because of his great love for the Blessed Virgin, he decided to go to the village and investigate. He went to Garabandal for the first time on July 29, 1961, and observed the raptures of the four girls, taking notes of everything he saw and heard. He was deeply impressed.

A week later he wished to go again to Garabandal to study more. He did so on that memorable August 8, never realizing that he himself would become the object of much study due to the special blessings Our Lady had in store for him on that day. He would never again return to Ona-except in a coffin. But for those that knew him and loved him, there can be no grief. He is in heaven.