The absurdity of the Palmarian Catholic Church and “Pope Peter III”

If you’ve ever felt like an imposter, then you should know what a real imposter looks like: Joseph Odermatt, the self-declared “Pope Peter III” of the Palmarian Catholic Church is the best example. Dressed in full papal robes, carried high through his €100 million cathedral, he calls himself the "true" Pope—a show so over-the-top, it’s hard to believe it’s real. Blending fancy costumes with odd beliefs, Odermatt’s “papacy” feels more like a strange performance than a church.

Odermatt is just the latest “pope." Before him was Jesús Ginés Hernández, who went by “Pope Gregory XVIII.” A former soldier and seminarian, Hernández took over as pope after “Pope Peter II” but soon had enough. On April 22, 2016, he left the role, choosing instead to live with a nun. Not long after, he publicly declared, “Desde el principio fue todo un montaje” (“From the beginning, it was all a farce”). His words exposed the Palmarian Church for what it really was: a well-constructed act.

Odermatt’s processions through his cathedral look like old royal parades. Carried like a king, dressed in heavy robes that look like they belong to a real pope, he leads his small flock with an intense seriousness. His tiny congregation and lack of real authority make it seem like a bad parody of actual Catholic traditions. Watching him play “pope” in front of a few hundred people, it’s hard to take his claim seriously.

A Church of Strange Beliefs

The Palmarian Church’s teachings are so different from traditional Catholic beliefs, creating a version of Christianity that is laughable. This Church emerged from the deranged visions of Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, a fraudulent mystic who claimed to receive divine messages at El Palmar de Troya in Spain during the 1960s. After conveniently "witnessing" supposed apparitions of the Virgin Mary, he manipulated vulnerable followers and exploited post-Vatican II anxieties among traditionalist Catholics to build his cult-like following. He also claimed that he lost 16 liters of blood during a mystical experience - nearly three times the amount a human body contains. When the allegedly miraculous blood was analyzed, investigators exposed it as not even being his own.

In this church, Mary is not only the Queen of Heaven but also considered equal to God in some ways. Priests in this church are said to “marry” Mary when they are ordained, and they believe in a “Planet Mary,” home to other sinless beings. They even expect not just an Antichrist but an “Anti-Mary” to show up one day.

Odermatt’s obsession with looking like a real pope is obvious. His processions, costumes, and rituals are modeled after the Vatican’s own, but with none of the history or true power behind them. By copying the symbols of real Catholicism, he’s trying to add weight to his self-declared role. Yet, instead of inspiring respect, his elaborate outfits and parades look like an act more suited to a stage than to a church.

Most imposters worry about being found out, but not Odermatt. He is fully committed to his role, doubling down with even more over-the-top displays to reinforce his claim. Watching him, it’s hard not to see him as the lead in an unintentional comedy, his church a high-budget farce complete with costumes, processions, and carefully rehearsed acts. His deep belief in his own authority is almost unbelievable, adding to the absurdity of the entire spectacle.

image source: Padre Braulio María, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons