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The apparitions of

GARABANDAL

BY
F. SANCHEZ-VENTURA Y PASCUAL

Chapter One

REASONED ARGUMENTS TO FAN THE FLAMES OF OUR FAITH

Page 26

"The Madonna of the Tears". The post-office employees heaped them at the foot of the shrine. Photographs had been taken and were handed round. Experts and men of science gave evidence. One such testimony reads as follows: "With the assistance of the police, who made way for us through the immense crowds in front of the house, we entered a bedroom with a single window giving onto the Via Carso. There, at our request, Signora Antonia Giusto unlocked a box in which, wrapped in a piece of linen, there lay an image of the Blessed Virgin which appeared to be made of plaster in different colors, backed by a sheet of black glass."

  "The image undoubtedly showed signs of humidity on various parts of the face and chest, but the liquid had been carefully wiped off with pieces of cotton-wool. Only a single drop remained in the corner of the left eye. The said drop was removed with the help of a pipette. One after another, several drops welled up in the same place and were likewise collected.

   "While the drops were being transferred to a glass tube, some more tears sprang from the eye and trickled down to the little hollow formed by the hand holding the heart of the Virgin. These tear drops were also collected.

   "In the course of these operations, we could not prevent the onlookers from soaking up some tears with pieces of cotton-batting. All together, a little more than one cubic centimeter of liquid was removed to the laboratory.

   "The phenomenon lasted almost a quarter of an hour from the time the image was taken from the box, and it did not occur again, so it was not possible to obtain any more material for the analysis.

   "The inner corners of the eyes were examined with magnifying glasses, hut no pores or flaws could be seen in the ceramic surface. The plaster image was separated from its black glass backing, and it was observed to be made of a block of plaster from one to two centimetres in thickness.

   "The outer part was varnished in several different colours, and the unworked inner face had a smooth white surface which proved to be quite dry on examination."

   This testimonial was signed by three doctors and the parish priest, Fr. Giuseppe Bruno.

   The original report on the analysis of the liquid is too lengthy to be given here in full, but it ends with the following findings:

   "In brief, its appearance, its alkali content and composition indicate that the liquid examined has a composition analogous to that of the human lacrimal secretion.
Syracuse, September 9th, 1953.

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