The International Chivalric Order Solar Tradition was a destructive,
doomsday cult founded by Luc Jouret in 1984. It absorbed the Foundation
Golden Way led by Joseph Di Mambro (1926-1995). While Jouret assumed much of
the public leadership, Dimambro convinced members that he was a member of the
14th Century Christian Order of the Knights Templar during a previous
life and that his daughter Emanuelle was "the cosmic child." Together,
Jouret and Dimambro convinced followers that they would lead them after death to
a planet which revolves around the star Sirius. 1 They regard death as an
illusion and that life continues on other planets. Solar Temple groups were organized in
Quebec, Canada, as well as in Australia, Switzerland, and other countries. They follow a form of
Christianity mixed with New-Age philosophy, homeopathic medicine and high finance. Jouret
believed himself to be Christ. He ran into legal difficulties in Canada and was convicted
of illegally possessing gun silencers.
The leadership felt that the Solar Temple was being persecuted by various governments.
They anticipated the imminent end of the world due to an environmental catastrophe, and
felt that they were to play a major role in the collapse. They decided that some members
should leave the earth prematurely and "transit" to a better world. Fire forms
an important part of their belief. They believe that the world will end in fire. In order
for them to transit to another world, they must die in a fire.
For many months prior to the murder/suicides, rumors of financial mismanagement had circulated
within the Solar Temple. An infant, aged three months, was killed in 1994-OCT at their
Canadian site by driving a wooden stake through his heart. Former group members explained
that Di Mambro ordered the killing because the baby was believed to be the Anti-Christ
described in the Bible. A few days later, Di Mambro and twelve followers had a ritual Last
Supper together. A few days later, mass suicides and murders were conducted at two
villages in Switzerland and in Morin Heights, a ski resort north of Montreal, Quebec. 15
inner circle members (called the "awakened") committed suicide by the use of
poison. 30 (called the "immortals") were killed by bullets or smothering. 8
others (called the "traitors") were also killed.
On 1995-NOV-16, close to winter
solstice, 16 of the remaining members of the group disappeared
from their homes in France and Switzerland. Four left notes which hinted at a second mass
suicide and expressing a desire to "see another world". 13 adults and 3
children were later found dead in a remote forest on the Vergers plateau, in southeast
France. Investigators concluded on 1996-NOV-15 that at least four of the 16 did not die
willingly. Three were children. The fourth, Ute Verona, 34, had her jaw fractured before
she died; this indicates a struggle had occurred. Most had been given sleep-inducing
drugs. During the trial of Solar Temple leader Michel Tabachnik, French
magistrate Luc Fontaine stated that two members -- policeman Jean-Pierre Lanchet
and architect Andre Friedli -- shot the others, including three children aged 18
months, two years and four years. The two poured gasoline over their bodies, set
them on fire, shot themselves and fell into the flames. 2
Five additional adult members, and three teenage children apparently tried to committed
suicide on the day of the spring equinox 1997-MAR-20, in St. Casimir, Quebec, Canada. The
attempt failed due to faulty equipment. The teenage sons and daughter of one of the
couples convinced their parents that they wanted to live. They were allowed to leave,
while the adults made their second, successful, attempt to burned down the house with
themselves in it. Four of their bodies were arranged in the form of a cross. The teens
were found drugged and disoriented, but otherwise safe, in a nearby building. A note was
found there which described the group belief that death on earth leads to a transit to a
new planet where their lives would continue.
Members of this religious group appear to synchronize their mass murders/suicides to
follow shortly after the solstices and equinoxes. The Quebec police carefully monitored
the Queze family during the summer solstice in 1996. But there was no unusual activity at
that time, or following the 1996 fall equinox in September or winter solstice in December.
So, the deaths just after the spring equinox came as a surprise to the authorities.
The police decided on 1997-APR-25 to not charge the three teen-age survivors of the St.
Casimir mass suicide with arson. They are aged 13, 14 and 16. Although they triggered the
incendiary device, they were under the influence of sedatives at the time, and had been
psychologically affected by living with members of the Solar Temple group. Other factors
considered by the prosecutor were that they tried to persuade the adults to not commit
suicide, and that they chose life for themselves.
The Solar Temple group continues to exist; it is believed to have over 30 surviving
members in Quebec and from 140 to 500 worldwide. Additional mass murders and suicides in Quebec,
France or Switzerland are possible following future solstices
and/or equinoxes near the end of March, June, September and December. The Canadian police
are limited by the country's Charter of Rights and Freedoms; they cannot
investigate religious groups that are registered as such with the government. They can
only investigate individuals.
A splinter religious group with Roman Catholic Christian and New Age
beliefs. Total deaths through murder and
suicide (1995-1997): 74
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