Excerpt from Chapter 10 of Miracles: A Parascientific Inquiry into Wondrous Phenomena by D. Scott Rogo Order the book here.

San Sebastian de Garabandal is a small village wedged among the mountains of northeastern Spain. It doesn't appear on most maps of the area, and fewer than a hundred families make their homes there. Most of the residents live in buildings roughly constructed of rock and tile. It is a primitive place where such facilities as indoor plumbing and heating are rare. The only access to the town is via a narrow dirt road. Until 1961 hardly anyone outside of Spain had ever heard of Garabandal. But that year the world's Catholic community began to focus its attention on the village when news spread across Europe that four young visionaries were seeing repeated apparitions of the Virgin Mary. The story, one of the most complex Marian visitations ever recorded, began on Sunday, June 18, 1961. Mass had been said that morning by a visiting priest from the neighboring town of Cosio, since Garabandal had no cleric of its own. After church services, the townspeople customarily gather in the village square, where the adults usually spend the day socializing while their children play and dance. That day was bound to be different. Having become bored with the recreational opportunities afforded by the village square, eleven year old Conchita Gonzales (the daughter of one of the poorer families in town) decided to steal away to engage in some mischief. She quickly enlisted her playmate, twelve year old Mary Cruz Gonzales, to aid in her plot. The plan was to sneak away from the square, visit the vegetable patch adjoining the home of the village schoolmaster, and steal fruit from his apple tree. Mary Cruz readily agreed to join her. The young mischief makers didn't vanish unobserved, however. Two other village girls, Mary Loly Mazon and Jacinta Gonzales (both twelve years old) saw them leave and decided to follow. They, too, were bored and were hoping to find some adventure outside of town. When they arrived at the schoolmaster's house, the other girls were already stuffing apples in their pockets. Mary Loly and Jacinta surprised them in the act and threatened to turn them in to the schoolmaster, but soon they realized that joining in the fun would be more enjoyable than putting an end to it. All four were soon stalking away from the garden loaded with their booty. It was now eight thirty in the evening. As the children made their way down a rubble road back to town, they heard a roll of thunder. They weren't too concerned about an impending storm, so they sat down in the road and began eating the stolen fruit while playing a game of marbles. Their game was interrupted when Conchita noticed that a figure had appeared at the side of the road. The apparition seemed to be an angel. It wore a blue robe, had pink wings, and was about eight years old. He was, according to Conchita, "surrounded by a great light that did not dazzle my eyes." Since they were facing away from the apparition, the other three children saw nothing at first; only when they noticed that Conchita seemed entranced did they realize that something strange was occurring. When they turned around to see what she was staring at, they, too, saw the angelic visitation. The figure said nothing, and as the children looked on in amazement, it disappeared. The girls were so shocked that they immediately ran back to town, where they told the schoolmistress what they had seen. By later that evening, news of the children's adventure had spread. Although the visiting priest from Cosio interviewed the children the next day, he could come to no conclusion about the incident. He merely advised the girls to ask the apparition about its mission should they see it again. The next day…

Miracles: A Parascientific Inquiry into Wondrous Phenomena Table of Contents Preface I Science, Psi, and the Miraculous Part One MIRACULOUS TALENTS II Levitation III The Stigmata IV Bilocation Part Two MIRACULOUS EVENTS V Divine Images VI The Miraculous Hailstones of Remiremont VII Bleeding Statues and Weeping Madonnas VIII The Miracle of St. Januarius Part Three MIRACULOUS INTERVENTIONS IX Manifestations of the Blessed Virgin Mary X Miracles at Garabandal, Spain; and Zeitoun, Egypt XI Miraculous Healings CONCLUSION XII Psyche and the Miraculous Bibliography Index