Marian apparitions in La Codosera (Spain)

1945

The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which took place in the town of La Codosera in 1945, have not become widely known. We give here some details taken from an article which appeared in August 1946 in the magazine "Ave Maria", published in the State of Indiana (United States). A French translation appeared as a folder.

La Codosera is a small village in the province of Badajoz. It is located in the southwest of Spain, close to the Portuguese border. The nearest railway station is 20 kilometers from the village and is on the Badajoz-Sint Vincent line.

The apparitions began on May 27, 1945, when a girl, Marcelina Barrosa, went shopping in the Portuguese village of El Marco with a friend. Two kilometers outside La Codosera, at a place called “Chandavila”, she sees a dark figure, shrouded in mist, standing near a grove of chestnut trees. However, she pays no attention to it. On her way back she sees this apparition again. This time she feels, as it were, compelled to approach. “It was the Blessed Virgin,” Marcelina later told her mother and those who questioned her.

The following days, the villagers escorted Marcelina to the place of the apparition. However, much to the people's disappointment, Marcelina sees nothing. However, one of those present, Dolores Lucio, mother of five children, then has an apparition. However, the Lucio family, which could not exactly be called a pious family, underwent a complete change as a result of this apparition. Since then, the members of this family have been praying almost continuously.

Only a week later, Marcelina sees the apparition again. Maria appears to the girl early in the morning and asks her to come back in the afternoon. The news spread like wildfire through the village and the surrounding area. When Marcelina returns to the place of the apparitions in the afternoon, she is followed by the entire population of the village. Many Portuguese from across the border are also present. Marcelina tells of the events of that afternoon the following:
“A cloud appears in the blue sky. It opens and the Blessed Virgin emerges. She comes down and walks to the foot of the chestnut trees, where I saw Her for the first time. She asks me to come to Her on my knees from the place where the people and I are kneeling and praying. I do not remember being afraid when I had to go all that distance on my knees, but the Blessed Virgin said:
- Do not be afraid. I will spread soft grass for you so that you do not get hurt - . Then I went forward on my knees to the chestnut trees. The Blessed Virgin embraced me and told me not to return on my knees, because I had already made sacrifices enough. But it hadn't been a sacrifice for me at all.”

Everyone present stood in amazement at what Marcelina did. She had traveled 30 meters on her bare knees over a piece of ground full of stones and pointed protrusions, and the ground was literally littered with the dead and pointed shells of the chestnuts. Not only did she not have a single scratch, but the scab of a dried boil she had had on the knee had not even come off. Many tried to imitate her, but had to stop. Even the men got bloody knees, even though they wore thick work trousers. From that moment on, many firmly believed in the apparitions.

If you ask what the Blessed Virgin told her, she says that from the second apparition, Mary appears to her repeatedly, sometimes at the most unexpected moments, and that she asks for much prayer and sacrifice. . She also asks for the Rosary to be prayed in the households. Dolores Lucio received the same message from the Blessed Virgin. The Blessed Virgin also asks that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass be celebrated at the place of the apparition. That a Way of the Cross is erected there and a church is built. During one of the apparitions, Dolores, in ecstasy, with her eyes turned upwards and her ears listening to a voice that seemed to come from above, covered a distance in the form of a square, 15 meters long and wide. This is the place where the Blessed Virgin wants the chapel built.

Other people have also seen the apparition, most notably Mr. José Lanillo, a police officer. He saw the apparition in the sky as he stood guard at his office door one day. At the same time, other persons three kilometers away at the place of the apparitions had the same vision. José called the other officers outside, but they saw nothing but a few wisps of mist when they looked in the same direction.

Another eyewitness is Mr. José Solar, correspondent in la Codosera for a newspaper from Badajoz. It is therefore a valuable witness, because at first he was not only skeptical, but even hostile to the apparitions. However, when the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, he changed completely. Now he is a convinced advocate. There would be a long list of witnesses, men and women alike, who have seen an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of Christ Himself, and of certain Angels. Several Saints also appeared to these people, most of whom eyewitnesses did not even know existed.

Besides events that people clearly see as punishment for blasphemies and open contempt for the apparitions in La Codosera, many miracles have also happened. Everything that happened has been passed on to the diocese of Badajoz, to which La Codosera belongs.

One of these events deserves special mention. This is a 17-year-old girl, Afra Brigido. She was rather frivolous. Now, however, she has completely changed. She attends Mass every day and she hardly ever misses the Rosary, either.

At first Afra was one of the biggest doubters. She did not even want to go to the place of the apparitions, where so many miracles had already happened. She did go with the procession on Corpus Christi, but more out of fickleness than out of respect. As she walked along in the procession, looking left and right and laughing, she suddenly became completely paralyzed. “My God”, she exclaimed and fainted. She had seen the Blessed Virgin...

When she came to, Afra had become a very different girl. All she thought about was praying. After that she also had more apparitions. On June 23, she and three other girls went to Villar del Roy, a town 20 kilometers away. There is a famous Marian shrine there. As they prayed the rosary and came to the fourth sorrowful Mystery (Jesus carries His cross to Mount Calvary), Afra fell into ecstasy. The whole suffering of Christ unfolded before her eyes, right down to the crucifixion. She saw how a man in a strange headgear helped Christ carry the cross; how Christ was nailed to the cross in indescribable pains, and she heard the roars, blasphemies, and curses of the multitude. After this vision she noticed dark spots on the palms, as if there was some blood under the skin. She paid no attention to them at first, but later showed them to her friends. So they started their way back.

Because a violent thunderstorm broke loose, the girls had to spend the night in Villar del Roy. The next day, Afra went to a doctor in Villar. This one put iodine on the wounds. A day later they started bleeding and the same happened with a wound on her right side (Stigmata). Afra later had further apparitions, including apparitions of Christ Himself. Maria also appeared to her and confided in her a secret about which she does not wish to give any information.

The article concludes with the announcement that we are waiting for a ruling from the bishop of Badajoz. To the best of our knowledge, no ruling has been made in this regard to date.