Now, the extraordinary thing is that in the entire history of the Palmarian Church, there is only one nun called Paloma, and that nun was me, Maria Hall, a New Zealander. As if by divine intervention, he began disavowing the church and speaking out against it as fervently as he’d once supported it. Since I’m not only an ex-Palmarian but also an ex-nun of that Church, I’m fascinated to discover that Dan Brown has taken some of my own very personal story and woven it into Origin, a work of fiction. Unfortunately, Dan Brown doesn’t get that course of events right or the reasoning behind it. ( Log Out /  Wow, that must have been a fascinating read for you. Though he was only recently a “bishop,” and nowhere near a Cardinal, he declared that he had been mystically crowned pope by Jesus Christ himself and that the conclave was no longer necessary. They believe that Jesus Christ transferred the position to them in Dominguez’ vision. According to testimonies, they beat Bishop S with a hammer and threatened him and another bishop, J, with a knife. Dialogue Ireland is an independent trust that works to promote awareness and understanding of religious issues and cultism in Ireland.
However, I do feel complimented that Dan found my history sufficiently captivating to use as subject material for his book. In December 2018, however, the Palmarians suddenly launched a professionally looking multilingual website: www.palmarianchurch.org. The more errors he includes – deliberately or not – the more people will talk, and the more books he will sell. This was highly unusual even in the world of Catholic traditionalism. Think editing first, middle and last…, Spotlight, investigative journalism at its best. Contact with the real world and its people is actively discouraged, and young people grow up in a very closed and sheltered environment, often with devastating effects that strangle their personal development. His first order of business was to declare Dominguez “Pope Saint Gregory XVII the Very Great.”. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Accessibility Help. However, as Thuc had not obtained permission to do so from the Holy See, he and all five men were excommunicated by Pope Paul VI, the very man they were claiming to support. Ginés Hernández was very severely injured, being stabbed in the chest. But, then, Dan Brown is the master of misinformation, innuendo, fabrication and trickery. Two yellows but still no red card! Thinking of writing? His new novel focuses on a conclavist group who I believe really exists, called the Palmarian Catholic Church… Members of the Christian Palmarian Church of the Carmelites of the Holy Face, or the Palmarian Catholic Church, exist all over the world, and the truth about their practices is even stranger than fiction. Your email address will not be published. Fans of Dan will love his new book. As Dominguez was not, in fact, a holy man at all, he sought consecration as a bishop. Here you can read my text “Dan Brown and the Palmarian Church. Born Gines Jesus Hernandez, Gregory XVIII was one of the Palmarian Church’s most staunch leaders. It’s a pity that Dan’s researcher, who has obviously read my memoir, REPARATION – a spiritual journey, didn’t contact me to discuss the Palmarian Church. In May 2019, they were sentenced to prison for six and five years respectively, but directly released on probation (see my summary of the events).

On the site, one finds a lot of images and films, mainly documenting important religious feast and the basilica in El Palmar de Troya. The Cathedral of the Palmarian Church, in Palmer de Troya, Andalusia, Spain.

But then Dan Brown writes fiction, so in one sense it really doesn’t matter. He called his order the “Order of Carmelites of the Holy Face” and claimed to be dedicated to then-pope Paul VI.