The Palmarian Church of El Palmar de Troya
Historical, Canonical, and Theological Study
with Proof of Its Doctrinal Errors and Scandals
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Origin and Main Claims of the Movement
- The Primacy of the Roman Pontiff and the Vacancy of the See since 1964
- The Doctrinal Errors Contained in the Palmarian Catechism and Creed
- The New Canonizations and the Claimed Universal Jurisdiction
- The Scandals of the Palmarian Popes
- Ecclesiological Consequences
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Introduction
Since March 1968, a movement has appeared in El Palmar de Troya, Spain, centered on alleged Marian apparitions. Clemente Domínguez y Gómez became its central figure. In 1976, he received episcopal consecration at the hands of Archbishop Ngô Đình Thục without papal mandate. On August 6, 1978, the day of the death of Paul VI, he claimed to have been crowned pope by Christ in a mystical vision under the name Gregory XVII and proclaimed that the Apostolic See had been transferred from Rome to El Palmar de Troya. The movement equipped itself with its own hierarchy, councils, an extended creed, a catechism, and a supposedly corrected Bible. It presents itself as the only true Church, now called one, holy, catholic, apostolic, and Palmarian.
In accordance with traditional Catholic doctrine, the Apostolic See has been vacant since the first public heresy of Paul VI contained in the constitution Lumen Gentium promulgated in 1964. This article examines the claims and practices of the Palmarian movement in the exclusive light of the constant teaching of the Catholic Church prior to 1964. It demonstrates that the Palmarians erred first by continuing to regard Paul VI as a true pope until his death in 1978, and second by inventing a transfer of the See and a new papacy based on private revelation. These theses introduce grave doctrinal errors, and the conduct of the movement’s leaders has been marked by public scandals.
- Origin and Main Claims of the Movement
The movement was born from reports of apparitions on March 30, 1968. Clemente Domínguez y Gómez took its direction. He claims to receive visions and stigmata. After his episcopal consecration in 1976, he proclaimed his mystical election as pope on August 6, 1978, and the transfer of the See. Two Palmarian councils (1980–1992 and 1995–2002) produced a Credo Palmariano in 1992, a catechism, and a Palmarian Bible. Private canonizations were promulgated, notably that of Francisco Franco. In 1982, Gregory XVII declared that all sacramental powers were withdrawn from clergy outside the movement. Throughout this period the movement continued to treat Paul VI as a legitimate pope until the moment of his death.
- The Primacy of the Roman Pontiff and the Vacancy of the See since 1964
The dogmatic constitution Pastor Aeternus of the First Vatican Council, promulgated in Rome on July 18, 1870, and edited in Denzinger, Enchiridion Symbolorum, Definitionum et Declarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum, Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1976, number 3058, Latin, defines: “Si quis ergo dixerit, non esse ex ipsius Christi Domini institutione, ut beatus Petrus in primatu super universam Ecclesiam habeat perpetuos successores; aut Romanum Pontificem non esse beati Petri in eodem primatu successorem; anathema sit.”
English translation: If anyone therefore says that it is not by the institution of Christ the Lord himself that the blessed Peter has perpetual successors in the primacy over the whole Church, or that the Roman Pontiff is not the successor of the blessed Peter in the same primacy, let him be anathema.
According to traditional Catholic doctrine on the loss of papal office through public heresy, the first public heresy of Paul VI contained in Lumen Gentium of 1964 caused the loss of the papal office. The Apostolic See has therefore been vacant since that date. John XXIII and Paul VI before 1964 were recognized by the whole Church and had not yet uttered clear public heresies; after Lumen Gentium the situation changed.
The Palmarian movement erred by continuing to accept Paul VI as a true pope until his death in 1978. Its 2024 catechism states: “El 6 de agosto de 1978, tras la muerte del Papa San Pablo VI, Nuestro Señor Jesucristo […] eligió y coronó al nuevo Papa, San Gregorio XVII Magnísimo. […] Cristo trasladó la Sede de su Iglesia desde Roma a El Palmar de Troya el 9 de agosto de 1978.”
English translation: On August 6, 1978, after the death of Pope Saint Paul VI, Our Lord Jesus Christ […] elected and crowned the new Pope, Saint Gregory XVII the Very Great. […] Christ transferred the See of His Church from Rome to El Palmar de Troya on August 9, 1978. It adds that the Roman Church has become “la gran Ramera de los Últimos Tiempos.” English translation: the great Harlot of the Last Times.
This claim is doubly erroneous. First, Paul VI had already lost the papacy in 1964; the Palmarians wrongly continued to regard him as pope. Second, no private revelation can transfer the Apostolic See or create a new pope. The constitution of the Church does not permit the See to be moved from Rome by a private vision, nor does it allow any individual to be elected pope by mystical coronation. The Palmarian procedure therefore contradicts both the vacancy of the See since 1964 and the constant doctrine on the Roman primacy.
- The Doctrinal Errors Contained in the Palmarian Catechism and Creed
It is certain, according to the extracts of the Palmarian Catechism published on January 1, 2024, on iglesiapalmariana.org (document Catecismo-Extractos-2024.pdf, Spanish) and the Credo Palmariano of 1992 (Spanish), that the movement has promulgated several new doctrines that depart from Catholic teaching prior to 1964.
First error: the eternal identification of the Divine Persons with figures from the Old Testament. The catechism teaches: “En Dios hay Tres Personas realmente distintas e iguales entre Sí, que son: Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo. Desde toda la eternidad, el nombre de Dios Padre es el de Ananías o Disipador de las tinieblas, el nombre de Dios Hijo es el de Melquisedec o Rey de Justicia, y el nombre de Dios Espíritu Santo es el de Malaquías o Enviado.”
English translation: In God there are Three really distinct and equal Persons, who are: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. From all eternity, the name of God the Father is Ananias or Dispeller of darkness, the name of God the Son is Melchizedek or King of Justice, and the name of God the Holy Spirit is Malachi or Sent One. This identification confuses the uncreated Persons with creatures and contradicts the divine simplicity taught by the Fathers and the councils.
Second error: the real presence of the Virgin Mary and the entire Trinity in the Eucharistic species. The catechism affirms that in the consecrated Host and Wine are really and truly present Christ, Mary in body, blood, and soul, as well as the Father and the Holy Spirit. This doctrine adds to transubstantiation a presence that belongs to Christ alone, contrary to the teaching of the Council of Trent, Session XIII, 1551, Rome, Latin, in the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, Rome.
Third error: the restriction of the validity of the sacraments to the Palmarian Church alone. The catechism declares that bishops, priests, and deacons outside the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and Palmarian Church have no power to confer the sacraments validly. The 1982 decrees of Gregory XVII explicitly withdraw all sacramental powers from clergy outside the movement and affirm that the Eucharistic presence has disappeared from non-Palmarian tabernacles. This position contradicts the principle of validity ex opere operato set forth at the Council of Trent, Session VII, 1547, and in the 1917 Code of Canon Law, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, Rome, 1917, Latin.
Fourth error: salvation impossible outside the Palmarian Church. The catechism teaches that outside the fold of the true One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and Palmarian Church there is no possibility of salvation and that all those outside it are apostates, heretics, and schismatics. This absolute formulation goes beyond the traditional doctrine of extra ecclesiam nulla salus and denies any possibility of grace outside its structures.
Fifth error: the introduction of new elements such as the Drop of Mary’s Blood received at baptism and lost in mortal sin, or the elevation of naturally meritorious acts to the supernatural order by posthumous acceptance of the Divine Mary. These notions have no foundation in the Tradition prior to 1964.
Sixth error: the elevation of private revelations to the rank of dogmatic source. The Palmarian Bible is presented as the purified and infallible version, corrected by the visions of Gregory XVII. The messages of the Divine Mary are used as a criterion of salvation at the particular judgment. This contradicts the closure of public revelation taught at the Council of Trent, Session IV, 1546, and the limits of private revelations set forth by Saint John of the Cross in The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Book II, Chapter 22.
- The New Canonizations and the Claimed Universal Jurisdiction
The canonizations of Francisco Franco, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, and other figures were promulgated without the required universal jurisdiction. Cardinal Louis Billot sets forth in De Ecclesia Christi, 2 volumes, Gregorian University, Rome, 1927, Latin, that canonizations presuppose this jurisdiction. Without it, these acts remain without canonical value.
- The Scandals of the Palmarian Popes
It is certain, according to the public statements of those involved and the concordant reports of the Spanish and international press, that the leaders of the movement have been involved in moral and financial scandals.
Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, Gregory XVII from 1978 to 2005, publicly admitted in 1997 sins against chastity committed with priests and nuns of his order. Testimonies from former members report sexual abuses and a dissolute lifestyle. He directed the construction of a lavish basilica financed by foreign donations while being accused of financial manipulation and tax evasion.
Ginés Jesús Hernández, Gregory XVIII from 2011 to 2016, left the movement in 2016, married a former nun, and posed nude with her in the magazine Interviú. He publicly described the movement as a financial setup, money laundering, and manipulation. In 2018, he attempted to force entry into the basilica with his companion; a member was seriously injured. They were arrested for attempted theft with violence.
Manuel Alonso Corral, Peter II from 2005 to 2011, saw the publication of the Palmarian Bible provoke a major schism. Markus Josef Odermatt, Peter III since 2016, accused his immediate predecessor of theft and fraud in his first encyclical. The movement multiplied internal excommunications and imposed strict isolation norms that broke families apart.
These facts, reported by El País on May 26, 2016, and by other press outlets, as well as by the public statements of former leaders, show that the spiritual claims of the movement were accompanied by grave moral and material disorders.
- Ecclesiological Consequences
The doctrinal errors of the Palmarian catechism and creed attack the Trinity, the Eucharist, the sacraments, Roman primacy, and the indefectibility of the Church. By continuing to recognize Paul VI as pope after 1964 and then inventing a new hierarchy through private revelation, the movement compounds the crisis rather than resolving it. The scandals of the leaders confirm that this movement brings no restoration of the visible hierarchical order. In the vacancy of the Apostolic See that began in 1964, these theses and practices constitute an additional deviation.
- Conclusion
The rigorous examination of Palmarian documents, particularly the 2024 catechism and the 1992 creed, reveals a series of doctrinal errors that directly contradict Catholic teaching prior to 1964. The fundamental error consists in treating Paul VI as a true pope until 1978 and then claiming a transfer of the See and a new papacy based on private revelation. The repeated scandals of its leaders complete the disqualification of this movement as a solution to the present vacancy. Fidelity to Tradition requires the total rejection of these theses and the maintenance of the integral faith in expectation of the divine restoration of the visible hierarchical order according to the ways that Providence will choose.
- Bibliography
Holy Scripture, Sixto-Clementine Vulgate, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, Rome, 1592/1598, Latin.
Council of Trent, Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, Rome, 1545–1563, Latin.
First Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Pastor Aeternus, promulgated in Rome on July 18, 1870, edited in Denzinger, Enchiridion Symbolorum, Definitionum et Declarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum, Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1976, Latin, no. 3058.
1917 Code of Canon Law, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, Rome, 1917, Latin.
Saint John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, French translation, Éditions du Seuil, Paris, 1990, French.
Cardinal Louis Billot, De Ecclesia Christi, 2 volumes, Gregorian University, Rome, 1927, Latin.
Extractos del Catecismo Palmariano, published on iglesiapalmariana.org, January 1, 2024, Spanish.
Credo Palmariano, promulgated by Gregory XVII, 1992, Spanish.
El País, article of May 26, 2016, on the revelations of the former “pope” Gregory XVIII, Spanish and English.
Other reports from the Spanish and international press relating the moral and financial scandals (2016–2018).