Bayarcal, Spain — Late December 1667
Procession of lights
Bayarcal was a focus of attention for the inquisition. Among many testimonies relating to strange lights was that of Juan Munoz, a tailor from Santander. In his sworn statement he said that in 1667, around Christmas time, at midnight, he saw a cross, behind which there was a banner, followed by four lights like wicks that flashed on and off. He supposed it to be the priest carrying the Viaticum (the Christian Eucharist given to a person in danger of death), though it seemed to be too bright. As the lights moved, and he was also walking home, he reached a point some fifteen steps from them. He arrived home, quite anxious about what he had seen, but before closing the door he turned around to take another look. He then saw the lights pass in front on the church. Too frightened to investigate what the luminous thing was, he shut the door and swore he wouldn’t even tell anyone about what he had seen. However, when he heard other neighbors relate they had seen the phenomenon, he told them what he had witnessed. They all agreed that such things had been seen many times before, and that the only possible explanation was that God sent them as signs to commemorate the lives of martyrs from the area. The fact that Munoz was new to the village and had never heard of the phenomenon was taken as proof that such things were not a mere figment of the imagination. Processions of lights were seen in many Spanish villages, and in other European countries. Sometimes they would be seen over the rooftops, but usually at ground level, and could range in size from tiny to several meters across.
Source: Francisco A. Hitos, Martires de la Alpujarra en la Rebelion de los Moriscos (1568). Republished by Apostolado de la Prensa, Madrid (1935). Case: W237