La Luz del Mundo Church is a fundamentalist Christian organization founded in 1926 by Mexican Eusebio Joaquín González. It claims to have 1.8 million followers in Mexico and millions more around the world, but there have always been discrepancies about the actual number. La Luz del Mundo Church describes itself as a “resurgence of the early Christian church.”
Their followers believe church leader Naasón Joaquín García is an apostle of Jesus. The church’s influence spread to the US, particularly in parts of California with large Hispanic populations.
During mass gatherings of the organization’s members, women kept their heads covered with scarves and did not sit with the men. The emotional gatherings were intense and attracted thousands of people.
However, as is sometimes the case, the church would be mired in controversy, and a shocking series of revelations would show that underneath the surface, there was a catalog of horrific crimes leading to the arrest of the church leader Joaquin Garcia.
La Luz del Mundo Church was founded in 1926 amid the Mexican Civil War. The fight was between the secular, anti-clerical government and Catholic rebels.
It would build its first temple in 1934. After its founder, Aaron Joaquin Gonzalez, passed away, his son Samuel took over his position.
Three-weekday prayer meetings are scheduled for members, with two on a Sunday. The church would reach a global audience and would not use music crosses or religious iconography in its presentations.
La Luz del Mundo Church
Horrific details surrounding the church leaders in 2019 would expose the organization. Accusations of sexual abuse, human trafficking, child pornography, and rape would shock members of the church, and the world would be shocked by the allegations made.
Church leader Naasón Joaquín García was arrested in 2019 along with three female co-defendants accused of the terrible crimes. Garcia was taken into custody when met at Los Angeles International Airport by police officers.
He eventually pleaded guilty to three charges in 2022 and received a sentence of sixteen years and eight months. HBO, in collaboration with RAINN, released a documentary that provides details of the situation.
The documentary The Darkness within La Luz del Mundo tells the sickening story of the events.
The church continues to operate, and despite the guilty verdict, the members of the church believe Garcia to be innocent of the claims against him.
In September 2022, thousands of church members would gather to pray for their fallen leader.
Astonishingly, Garcia could communicate with the crowd via a phone call.
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