Antipope An antipope () is a person who claims to be Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church in opposition to the officially elected pope. Between the 3rd and mid-15th centuries, antipopes were supported by factions within the Church its ...

Peter III (born Joseph Odermatt; 13 March 1966), also known by the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

Eliseo María de la Santa Faz, is the fourth

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

of the

Palmarian Catholic Church The Palmarian Catholic ChurchPalmarian Church. (2023)Who Are We? Palmarian Church (), officially registered as the Palmarian Christian Church, is an Independent Catholic traditionalist conclavist sect headquartered in El Palmar de Troya, Anda ...

who, in this capacity, claims to be the 266th pope of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

from 22 April 2016 to the present. He succeeded Antipope Gregory XVIII (

Ginés Jesús Hernández Antipope Gregory XVIII (; ; born Ginés Jesús Hernández y Martínez; 1 July 1959), also known by the religious name Sergio María de la Santa Faz, was previously the third Pope of the Palmarian Catholic Church, who in this capacity, claimed ...

), to whom he had earlier served as Palmarian Secretary of State, after Hernández left the Palmarian Church and reconciled with the

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Life

Odermatt was born in Stans, Canton of Nidwalden, in Switzerland. He claims to be a descendant of Saint

Nicholas of Flüe Nicholas of Flüe (; 1417 – 21 March 1487) was a Swiss hermit and ascetic who is the patron saint of Switzerland. He is sometimes invoked as Brother Klaus. A farmer, military leader, member of the assembly, councillor, judge and mystic, he ...

. He joined the Order of Carmelites of the Holy Face in 1985 and worked for eighteen years as a missionary in South America. He served as the order's secretary of state from 2011 until 2016. In 2016 he succeeded

as pope of the Palmarian Catholic Church, taking the papal name Peter III. He is seated at the

Cathedral-Basilica of Our Crowned Mother of Palmar The Cathedral-Basilica of Our Crowned Mother of Palmar () is a basilica church in El Palmar de Troya, Spain. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Palmar, serves as the only cathedral and 'mother church' for the ...

. Some months later he published an

encyclical letter An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

, in which he accused his predecessor of discrediting his former church and of stealing two million euros from the

, alongside several goods (including a

BMW X6 The BMW X6 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV by German automaker BMW. The BMW X6 is the originator of the sports activity coupé (SAC), referencing its sloping rear roof design. It combines the attributes of an SUV (high ground clearance, al ...

): he subsequently declared him an

apostate Apostasy (; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who ...

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

him and declared all of his acts to be

null and void In law, void means of no legal effect. An action, document, or transaction which is void is of no legal effect whatsoever: an absolute nullity—the law treats it as if it had never existed or happened. The term void ''ab initio'', which means " ...

. Hernández denies the charges of stealing. Odermatt disbanded the papal guard corps instituted by his predecessor, deeming it unnecessary for his security. In 2018 he travelled to the United States for the first time to participate at a "

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

ic, Marian and Josephine Congress". During his office, the Palmarian Catholic Church established an online presence for the first time, opening a website and accounts on

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and

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and a channel on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. Odermatt is considered an

antipope An antipope () is a person who claims to be Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church in opposition to the officially elected pope. Between the 3rd and mid-15th centuries, antipopes were supported by factions within the Church its ...

, as the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

states that its current head is

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odermatt, Joseph Living people 21st-century antipopes Bishops of Independent Catholic denominations People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Swiss bishops Spanish bishops Palmarian popes People from Stans Swiss traditionalist Catholics Spanish traditionalist Catholics 1966 births Spanish people of Swiss descent