A newly surfaced report has ignited concern among many Catholics after allegations emerged regarding Pope Leo XIV’s presence at a Pachamama ritual decades before his election to the papacy.
According to reporting from LifeSiteNews, Father Charles Murr claims that Pope Leo XIV, then Father Robert Francis Prevost, “actively participated in a pagan Pachamama ‘Mother Earth’ agricultural ritual” during a 1995 Augustinian symposium. The claim is based on photographs published in official symposium proceedings [photos can be seen on LifeSiteNews], which include images of participants kneeling during what is described in the text as a “Celebration of the Rite of Pachamama (Mother Earth), which is an agricultural rite offered by the cultures of the South-Andean region in Peru and Bolivia.”
The report states that multiple priests reviewed the image and identified the future pope among those present. While these individuals were not present at the original event, they reportedly “immediately and unmistakably recognized their confrere” in the photograph, according to LifeSiteNews.
Father Murr, speaking on Faith & Reason, emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, “The man who is now Leo XIV was documented kneeling in a pagan earth goddess ritual in an official gathering of his own religious order. The implications for the direction of the Church under this pontificate are profound,” according to LifeSiteNews.
The same set of documents reportedly includes additional images placing Prevost at the symposium, including a group photo and scenes from a Mass celebrated at the same location where the ritual took place.
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The Vatican Press Office has not yet issued a response to these claims.
Alongside these revelations, a separate report cited by LifeSiteNews has intensified concern about the nature of Pachamama-related practices. According to InfoVaticana, investigations in Bolivia have linked certain ritual practices associated with Pachamama to violent crimes.
One cited case, originally reported by the Bolivian newspaper El Deber, involved the disappearance of a young mother in 2021. Judicial findings presented in court indicated that the woman was “drugged, transported while unconscious, and taken to a local mine,” where she was allegedly buried as an offering. The court accepted the prosecution’s reconstruction of events based on testimony and evidence, though the victim’s body has not been recovered, according to InfoVaticana.
The same report notes that such acts are tied to beliefs that offerings of blood are required “in order to be appeased,” and describes ritual practices involving animal sacrifice. It further includes testimony from a ritual practitioner claiming that, in some cases, human offerings still occur, particularly in connection with mining or construction projects.
InfoVaticana stated, “When innocent blood is incorporated into the rite, the phenomenon ceases to be merely pagan and reveals an unmistakably demonic dimension.”
Pachamama, often referred to as “Mother Earth,” originates in Andean religious traditions and is associated with fertility and agricultural abundance. While some modern expressions are presented in cultural or symbolic contexts, critics argue that participation in such rituals raises serious theological concerns, particularly in light of the First Commandment.
These new reports also revive memories of the controversy during the 2019 Amazon Synod, when Pachamama imagery and rituals appeared in Vatican events, prompting widespread debate among Catholics worldwide.
For many of the faithful, the central concern is not merely historical, but spiritual. The question being raised is whether any form of participation in non-Christian religious rites, even in a cultural or academic context, risks compromising the Church’s witness to the exclusive worship of the one true God.
As the Church continues under the leadership of Pope Leo XIV, these allegations are likely to prompt deeper scrutiny, renewed calls for clarification, and a broader conversation about fidelity, inculturation, and the boundaries of authentic Catholic practice.
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