Ritual Was Hodgepodge From Many Religions and Neo-Pagan Beliefs

From descriptions of the nighttime ritual and objects in thehouse, it appears that Federico Padres Mexia was not part of an identifiable religious movement, according to people familiar with various spiritual traditions.

Rather, he appeared to combine religious practices from Christianity and folk, or neo-pagan, beliefs that might appeal to struggling people seeking to change their luck.

“Very often groups like this flourish in neighborhoods of rootless people,” said Lutheran minister Jack Lindquist of Poway, who once taught about contemporary religious movements at the Catholic-run University of San Diego. “The group sounds like a one-man operation by a leader who had his own ideas.”

Police found a prayer book referring to the “sixth seal,” a phrase introducing an apocalyptic vision of God’s judgment in the Book of Revelation. The presence of that biblical reference suggests the influence of evangelistic religions, but the cardboard image of Our Lady of Guadalupe found within the circle of worshipers is more in keeping with the pervasive Catholic culture of Mexico.

And neo-pagan techniques were indicated by the discovery of a rope with 13 knots surrounding some bodies and by reports that participants were afraid to leave the circle.

“These things describe a group that was picking and choosing religious elements--from Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Book of Revelation to some kind of magical ritual,” said Gordon Melton of Santa Barbara, who heads the Institute for the Study of American Religion.

As for two books found inside the house from El Templo de Mediodia (the Midday Church), Melton, an eminent authority on religious sects, said, “That’s a new one on me.”

Ignacio Aguilar, clinical coordinator of a psychiatric program for Latinos at the Bellwood Health Center in Bellflower, said it appeared that Mexia had devised his own religious techniques.

The 13 knots in the rope could symbolize Jesus and the 12 apostles and “could have been used as a kind of rosary,” Aguilar said. But he emphasized that he knew of no Christian Latino group using a rope that way. “I have heard of spiritists who go through different spiritual levels where every knot represents a different level,” he said.

If reports of the participants putting oil on their bodies and drinking punch as a sacrament are correct, Aguilar said, this would reflect a belief common to many religions that one must symbolically cleanse oneself both inside and outside.

Father Henry Rodriguez, an associate pastor at St. Jude’s Shrine parish in a predominantly Latino area of San Diego, said the group sounded “quite outside basic Christian practices and beliefs.”

“Religion is very important for Hispanic people, whether they are attending a church or not, and whether they are Catholic or not,” the priest said.

But the phenomenon of small prayer groups seeking God with the help of a charismatic leader happens everywhere, noted Father Bob Kress, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of San Diego. “People who are distressed and not highly sophisticated can be attracted by such a leader,” he said.

Mexia appeared to combine Christianity, pagan or superstitious elements “and his own imagination--that’s always important,” Kress said.