The Hilarious Story of the Palmarian Church

Origins:

“In March 1968, four Spanish schoolgirls (only known as Ana, Josefa, Rafaela and Ana María) stated they saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary by a little tree on a piece of farmland called La Alcaparrosa near Palmar de Troya. Many people came to witness the supposed apparitions, and a number of miracles similar to those alleged to have happened at Fátima, Garabandal and Međugorje were said to have occurred. The seers had many supporters, including priests. Several other people reported visions at the site, including Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, an insurance broker from Seville. He gradually became the “principal seer”

then

“In 1975, Domínguez formed a new religious order, the Order of Carmelites of the Holy Face, which claimed to be “faithful to the holy Pope Paul VI”. It claimed that Paul VI was detained in the Vatican by evil conspiring cardinals. The order was initially run by laymen, but supported sacramentally by priests from Spain, Portugal, and the United States.”

then comes the amusing bit

In today’s edition of El Pais, “Pope Gregory XVIII” admits the whole thing was a scam from the beginning. The admission comes after he abandoned his papacy to get married and live in a chalet in Sierra Nevada… The group received tens of millions in donations in the past 40 years- much of which came from crazy Catholics in America. Delicious.