On June 10, 2018, began a new, bizarre chapter in the history of the Palmarian Catholic Church. The Palmarian ex-pope Ginés Jesús Hernández (earlier known as Gregory XVIII) and his wife, Nieves Triviño climbed over the high walls of the church compound at Palmar de Troya.
They were masked and armed, apparently planning to rob the cathedral, but were discovered by a Palmarian bishop who was outside the basilica. According to testimonies, they beat Bishop S with a hammer and threatened him and another bishop, J, with a knife. However, in the subsequent fight, Hernández was severely injured, while the others escaped with less serious physical injuries.
It was on April 22, 2016, Gregory XVIII (sed. 2011-2016) resigned the Palmarian papacy. He later claimed that he had lost the faith and that the whole church was a hoax. He left to live with Nieves Triviño, whom he later married. For details, see my book A Pope of Their Own.
Here is a brief description of the events from June 10, 2018 to May 17, 2019.
June 10: At about 6 PM Ginés Jesús Hernández (hereafter GH) and Nieves Triviño (NT) climbed over the high wall and entered into the church compound at El Palmar de Troya. It was the Mass hour and most friars, nuns and lay members were inside the cathedral. GH and NT were masked and armed with at least one knife. They also carried equipment that could be used to open doors and locks.
While in the church compound, they were discovered by Palmarian bishop S. GH and NT attacked S with a hammer and threatened him with a knife. Another bishop, J, came to S’s help and was threatened, too. In the subsequent tumult, all were injured. While the other received relatively minor damages, GH was stabbed in the chest.
Hearing the noise outside the temple, other church members came to the assistance and they called police and ambulance. GH was transported by helicopter to the Virgen de Rocío hospital in Seville.
June 11: GH’s condition was stabilized, but he remained in the emergency room.
Members of the Civil Guard brought NT from the hospital to custody and a Utrera judge decided to arrest her.
June 12: The Utrera judge decided to prolong the arrest of NT for attempted armed robbery and attempted homicide. GH was still at the hospital and kept under police surveillance.
June 13: GH left the hospital and was subsequently arrested. By now, the court had dropped the charge of attempted homicide, but both GH and NT were accused of “armed robbery with aggravating circumstances”. After the proceedings, GH was brought to the Sevilla-I prison and NT was brought to the Alcalá de Guadaíra women prison.
December 10: The public attorney in Utrera persecuted GH and NH for armed robbery and for cases of grave assault and assault. GH remained in custody (prisión provisional), while NT had not been held in custody for some time.
February 11, 2019: The public attorney in Utrera concluded the legal process against the GH and NH and called for ten years in prison.
May 17: A court in Seville sentenced GH to six years for “armed robbery, grave assault and assault” (robo con violencia, lesiones agravadas y lesiones). At the same time, NT was sentenced to five years in prison for the same type of crimes.
However, due to a legal settlement, their prison sentences were not executed but instead transformed into suspended sentences (suspensión de la ejecución de la condena). They were also sentenced to pay about 35,000 Euros in fines, including damages that will be paid to the two Palmarian bishops that were injured in the attack.
The probation conditions establish that GH and NT will be imprisoned if they commit any crime during the next five years and that they are not allowed approach the Palmarian Basilica or any of the two bishops for a period of ten years. As a result of the legal settlement, GH was released from custody where he had remained for eleven months.
Links to news media:
El antiguo Papa del Palmar de Troya, herido grave tras intentar volver a la iglesia
El ex papa del Palmar de Troya y su mujer intentaban robar en la Basílica
Detenido el ex papa del Palmar de Troya: La Mata Hari del Palmar
El ‘expapa’ de El Palmar de Troya, a prisión por robo en su antigua basílica
Navaja en mano, el expapa Ginés volvió al Palmar y acabó acusado de intento de homicidio
durante el tiempo que estuve allí
Reyerta a puñaladas entre el ex papa de El Palmar de Troya, su mujer y un cura
Diario de Sevilla, tag: Palmar de Troya
El Palmar de Troya: un exorcismo y 48 Padrenuestros
Palmarian Church: Prison for the ex-Pope of Palmar de Troya and his wife
La ‘Mata Hari’ del Palmar de Troya
Territorio Negro: Crónica negra del Palmar de Troya
De papa a atracador (con su novia)
Territorio Negro: Crónica negra del Palmar de Troya
El recorrido literario de Dan Brown por la basílica y el fenómeno de El Palmar de Troya
Palmarian Church – Iglesia Palmariana: Information Site
Palmarian Church: Prison for the ex-Pope of Palmar de Troya and his wife
Condenan a 6 años de cárcel al expapa del Palmar de Troya
El ex papa del Palmar y su mujer libres tras llegar a un acuerdo
El ‘expapa’ del Palmar se libra de la cárcel gracias a un acuerdo judicial
Magnus Lundberg 
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