On June 29, 1994, a dozen people met in Assisi, Italy, to pursue a papal election, as they were convinced that John Paul II and his three predecessors were heretics and anti-popes and that the Holy See was vacant since Pius XII died in 1958. They held the theological position known as sedevacantism. As they claimed that no orthodox cardinals remained in the era of general apostasy, an ordinary conclave was out of the question. Still, the Holy See could not remain perpetually vacant, as St. Peter would always have successors until the end of time. Thus, they argued that it was lawful and, indeed, a duty for the faithful remnant–clergy, and laypeople–to restore the papacy and re-establish papal jurisdiction. This position is called conclavism. The participants in the Assisi conclave elected 41-year-old South African priest Victor Von Pentz (1953–2021), who took Linus II as his papal name.

See my research report:

The Invisible Pope: Linus II and the 1994 Assisi ConclaveDownload

7 thoughts on “The Invisible Pope: Linus II and the 1994 Assisi Conclave”

  1. Pingback: The Alternative Pope Project – Magnus Lundberg

  2. Wonderful research , Magnus. I did not know that Fr Thomas Fouhy had been appointed Secretay of State. Fr Fouhy he had been a priest of the Society of Mary in New Zealand before getting married. There is footage of him on YouTube speaking to a sedevacantist conference in the USA. I had been trying to find out what had happened to Bishop Richard Beddingfield who I see is now dead. Linus seems to not really have believed he was the Pope at all.

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      1. Beddingfield was with SSPX and worked with the Zulus after being consecrated a bishop. I don’t know if he ordained priests.

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      2. Sorry. I mixed up things and wrote both about Fouhy and Bedingfeld at the same time. It was Bedingfeld that some claim was involved with the Apostles, but I don’t believe it.

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    2. Foughy was certainly an interesting character. Quite a life! Some sources state that, at least at one point, he was a member of the Apostles of Infinite Love, but I haven’t found any solid evidence. Still, I know that the Apostles have or have had a South African presence, but if he was an Apostle, he should have had a religious name. And I agree with you. Von Pentz does not seem to have believed it, at least not for a very long time. Hopefully, somebody will be able to tell us more about his post-1994 religious activities.

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      1. I did have the chance to meet Fr Fouhy. He had been working in the USA and came back to New Zealand to retire. I chose not to meet him but wish I had done so. I have a few of his publications he wrote. I knew people who did in fact meet him. I do not believe he was involved with the Apostles of Infinite love. As far as I know they have never had any followers here but we do have two Palmarians. Both elderly.

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