Clemente Domínguez y Gómez (23 May 1946 – 22 March 2005) was a self-proclaimed successor of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

and was recognised as Pope Gregory XVII by supporters of the

Palmarian Christian Church , native_name_lang = , image = File:Catedral El Palmar.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Cathedral of El Palmar de Troya , caption = Cathedral of El Palmar de Troya, seat of the Palmarian ...

schismatic breakaway movement in 1978. His claim was not taken seriously by mainstream

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the vast majority of whom were unaware of his existence.

Palmar de Troya

Clemente Domínguez y Gómez was born in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, Spain. He became closely associated with the ''Palmar de Troya'' movement, which had its origins in an alleged apparition of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

, under the title of

Our Lady of Palmar Our Lady of Palmar ( es, Nuestra Señora del Palmar), known formally as Our Crowned Mother of Palmar ( es, Nuestra Madre del Palmar Coronada), is a Palmarian Christian title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with an alleged Marian apparition ...

, on 30 March 1968 in

El Palmar de Troya El Palmar de Troya is a village in Andalusia, Spain. In 2018, it seceded from the municipality of Utrera and became the province of Seville's 106th municipality. With a population of about 2,400, it is particularly known for the cathedral of the ...

, a little village near

Utrera Utrera () is a municipality in south-west Spain. It is in the province of Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. As of 2018 it has a population of 52,617. The town is of great historical interest. It was occupied by Muslims in the 8 ...

in the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

of Seville. He claimed to have experienced visions of the Virgin Mary from 30 September 1969. He claimed that the Virgin in her messages condemned

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

and what was called

progressivism Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...

, namely the reform of the Catholic Church underway as a result of

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and 1 ...

. His followers claimed he possessed the

stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Stigm ...

, the wounds of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

after crucifixion, on his hands. However, the Catholic Church cast doubts on the legitimacy of the alleged visions and apparitions. Clemente Domínguez' claim to be the Pope of the Catholic Church remains unaccepted by Catholics, who accepted

Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...

(1978) and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

(1978–2005) as the true successors of Pope Paul VI.

Controversially ordained

In December 1975, Clemente Domínguez founded his own religious order, ''The

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

of the Holy Face'', allegedly upon instructions from the

in an apparition. Domínguez, who assumed the name Fr. Ferdinand, was ordained

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

in January 1976. Archbishop Thục was subsequently

excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

d for his ordinations, which were deemed

valid but illicit Validity and liceity are concepts in the Catholic Church. Validity designates an action which produces the effects intended; an action which does not produces the effects intended is considered "invalid". Liceity designates an action which has bee ...

. (Although Archbishop Thuc had the power to ordain he did not have the authority to do so from

, which is a requirement for licit episcopal holy orders in Roman Catholicism.) Domínguez was also excommunicated '' latae sentientiae''.

Claim to the Papacy

In May 1976, Domínguez lost his eyeballs in a car accident.
Y Clemente ascendió a «sus» cielos
', Eduardo del Campo, El Mundo, ''Crónica'', 27 March 2005, Nº 493. He claimed further visions, including visions from

, who he claimed told him: "You shall be the Peter to come, the Pope who will consolidate the Faith and the Church in her integrity, who shall battle against heresy with great power, for legions of Angels shall assist you... me Great Pope Gregory, Glory of the Olives..." He also claimed that Christ had named him His sub-Vicar, with the automatic right of succession to the papacy after

. On 6 August 1978, Pope Paul died and Domínguez claimed the papacy, proclaiming himself ''Pope Gregory XVII''. Domínguez claimed that he was visited by Christ, along with

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

and

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, who told him

The reign of the Glory of the Olives has begun... A great day today, in which you are vested with the Office of Pope, on this feast of the Transfiguration on
Mount Thabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabor ...
,—Feastday of the Holy Face, of the Order of which you are the Founder and Father General. The great Pontificate of the Glory of the Olives begins: the Pope foretold by many mystics and in many prophecies; the Pope who unites in his veins the blood of Spain, the noble blood of Spain, with the true blood of France and with the blood of the chosen people, the Jewish people. There, the grandeur! He will not delay long before taking up the sword and fulfilling the mission of emperor and great monarch... It was also foretold in prophecies in past times how this Pope would be elected: namely through the direct intervention of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. There is no other way of opposing the official election in Conclave in Rome from which the Antipope will come... Only the simple and humble of heart will recognize the true Pope: Pope Gregory XVII.

On 15 August 1978, he was crowned Pope by four of his newly created

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

in a coronation held in

in Spain. During his papacy, he purported to canonize Generalissimo

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

and

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s. According to his supporters, Pope Gregory XVII was destined to be the last Pope, and would be crucified and die in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In the 1990s, Gregory XVII was accused of sexual impropriety with several of his

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

s and

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s. In 1997 he admitted to it and begged forgiveness. He died on 22 March 2005 in

, and was succeeded by

Manuel Corral Manuel Alonso Corral (1934 – 15 July 2011), known by his religious name as Isidoro María and by his papal name as Peter II, was the Pope of the Palmarian Christian Church, a mysticalist group not recognised by the Catholic Church, from 2005 ...

, who took the name Pope Peter II. Incidentally, the papacy of Gregory XVII closely overlapped that of

. He died, aged only 58, a mere 11 days prior to the death of his rival.

In film

In the 1986 Spanish comedy film ', Clemente is played by

Ángel de Andrés López Ángel de Andrés López (23 October 1951 – 4 May 2016) was a Spanish actor. He appeared in more than 60 films and television shows between 1977 and 2015. He died at his home in Miraflores de la Sierra from natural causes. Selected film ...

References

External links