Joseph Odermatt

Palmarian Pope Peter III The Great
Supreme Pontiff of the Palmarian Catholic Church Patriarch of El Palmar de Troya
Papacy began	22 April 2016
Predecessor	Gregory XVIII
Opposed to	Francis (Vatican)
Personal details
Born	Markus Josef Odermatt (1966-03-13) 13 March 1966 Stans, Nidwalden, Switzerland
Nationality	Swiss
Denomination	Palmarian Catholic Church (claims to be Catholic Church)
Motto	De Glória Ecclésiæ (Glory of the Church)

Pope Peter III (Latin: Petrus PP. III; Spanish: Pedro III; born Markus Josef Odermatt; 13 March 1966), also known by the religious name Eliseo María de la Santa Faz, is the 4th Pope of the Palmarian Catholic Church, who in this capacity, claims to be the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church from 22 April 2016 to the present. He succeeded Pope Gregory XVIII (Ginés Jesús Hernández), to whom he had earlier served as Palmarian Secretary of State, after Hernández left the Palmarian Church and reconciled with the Vatican.

Biography

Odermatt was born in Stans, Canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland. He claims to be a descendant of Saint Nicholas of Flüe. 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 Ginés Jesús Hernández 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.

Some months later he published an encyclical letter, in which he accused his predecessor of discrediting his former Church and of stealing two million euros from the Palmarian Catholic Church, alongside several goods (including a BMW X6): he subsequently declared him an apostate, excommunicated him and declared all of his acts to be null and void. Hernández denies the charges of stealing.

Odermatt disbanded the papal guard corp 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 "Eucharistic, 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 Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and a channel on YouTube.

Sources

• Flores, Alberto (2016-04-25). "El 'papa' de El Palmar de Troya pierde su fe y deja su 'orden' sin despedirse de sus seguidores" [The 'pope' of El Palmar de Troya loses his faith and leaves his 'order' without saying goodbye to his followers]. sevilla.abc.es (in Spanish). Seville, ES: Diario ABC. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
• Macías, Javier (2016-04-26). "Los cuatro 'papas' del Palmar de Troya" [The four 'popes' of Palmar de Troya]. sevilla.abc.es (in Spanish). Seville, ES: Diario ABC. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
• Macías, Javier (2016-04-27). "El 'papa' del Palmar niega haber robado el 'papamóvil': 'Es mio, estaba a mi nombre' " [The 'pope' of Palmar denies having stolen the 'popemobile': 'It's mine, it was in my name' ]. sevilla.abc.es (in Spanish). Seville, ES: Diario ABC. Archived from the original on 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
• Mayer, Jean-François (2016-04-27). "Église palmarienne: Grégoire XVIII perd la foi et va se marier, le nouveau pape Pierre III est un Suisse" [Palmarienne Church: Gregory XVIII loses faith and will marry, the new Pope Peter III is Swiss]. orbis.info (blog) (in French). Jean-François Mayer. Archived from the original on 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2016-05-03.