About NOCTAVIA
An independent documentary archive devoted to Garabandal and the Marian apparitions.
What NOCTAVIA is and why it exists
NOCTAVIA is an independent documentary project created and run by G.Cotha from Cantabria, the very region where San Sebastián de Garabandal is located. Its aim is to gather in one place — organised and cross-checked — the information about what happened in the village between 1961 and 1965, and to follow current Church affairs related to the Marian apparitions and the prophecies.
The project was born of a simple observation: there is a vast amount of material about Garabandal, but it is scattered. Out-of-print books, interviews in several languages, undated photographs, trimmed videos and, above all, endless repetition of unsourced claims. First-time visitors find two extremes — unquestioning devotion or dismissal without arguments — and very little in between. NOCTAVIA aims to occupy that middle ground.
NOCTAVIA does not belong to any religious institution and does not speak on behalf of the Church. It is funded by the website's advertising, the shop's affiliate links and sales of the book, which allows us to keep the archive open and free of charge.
Our mission
To preserve and share the story of Garabandal through well-documented articles, interviews, historical photographs, eyewitness accounts and quality audiovisual content, respecting both its spiritual dimension and documentary rigour.
We want anyone — believer, sceptic or simply curious — to be able to learn the story of Garabandal with the facts on the table and draw their own conclusions.
How we research
Every NOCTAVIA article is built from sources you can consult:
- Documentary sources: contemporary press, photographs, books by researchers who studied the events, and documents published by the Church — in particular those of the diocese of Santander and the Vatican's norms on discerning supernatural phenomena.
- Testimonies: known interviews, statements and writings by the four visionaries and by direct witnesses such as priests, doctors and neighbours. We always state who said what and where it was published.
- Visits to Garabandal: we walk the village, La Calleja, Los Pinos and the church to photograph and describe the places as they are today. That fieldwork produces the pilgrim's guide, the virtual map and the channel's live broadcasts.
In our news coverage we follow the same standard: we start from official sources or recognised Catholic media, always cite and link them, and write our own article with context and analysis rather than copying the information. When a fact comes from a secondary source or we have been unable to verify it, we say so. Some images are restored historical photographs or illustrative recreations, and this is always indicated.
Facts, testimonies and interpretations
At Garabandal, verifiable events coexist with experiences known only through those who lived them. To avoid misleading the reader, our texts separate three levels:
- Documented fact: what can be verified with dates, documents, photographs or several independent sources. For example, that the visionaries were four girls from the village or that the apparitions drew thousands of visitors.
- Testimony: what the visionaries or witnesses recount, such as the content of the messages or the prophecies of the Warning and the Great Miracle. We present it attributed to whoever said it (“according to Conchita…”, “she stated that…”), not as a proven fact.
- Interpretation: the readings that authors, devotees or critics make of those testimonies, including our own. We identify them as opinions and, where they exist, we present the different positions.
The Church has not recognised the supernatural character of Garabandal. Reporting and explaining this means neither affirming nor denying its authenticity: our job is to document it honestly and to make clear, in each case, which level we are on.
There are also things we do not do: we do not publish alleged new messages attributed to the Virgin without an identifiable source, we do not set a date for the Warning or the Great Miracle, we do not present catastrophes or news as the fulfilment of prophecies, and we do not use alarmist headlines to attract visits.
The YouTube channel and the book
NOCTAVIA has three formats that complement one another. This website is the archive: biographies, timelines, articles and news, with their sources. The YouTube channel, NOCTAVIA · Archivos Prohibidos, tells the same stories in documentary format and broadcasts live from Garabandal; many videos link back to the website for further reading, and many articles on the website include the corresponding video.
The book Garabandal: El Expediente Prohibido gathers the full investigation into a single ordered narrative, from the four visionaries to the Church's position. It is available in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and English. What appears scattered across pages on the website reads from start to finish in the book.
Corrections
If you spot an error, a misquoted source or have documentation that could complete our articles, write to us from the contact page or at contacto@noctavia.es. We review every message and correct our content where appropriate.
— G.Cotha, NOCTAVIA