A traditionalist Catholic religious community, known for its adherence to pre-Vatican II practices and its rejection of modernist interpretations.
Religion: Christianity
Denomination: Roman Catholic (Sedevacantist)
Founder: Joseph Natale
Current Leader: Frederick “Michael” and Peter Dimond
Founded: 1967
Location: Fillmore, New York, United States
Other Names: MHFM, Most Holy Family Monastery, Most Holy Family Monastery and Church, Most Holy Family Monastery and Sisters, Most Holy Family Monastery and Sisters of Charity, Most Holy Family Monastery and Sisters of Charity of the Poor, Most Holy Family Monastery and Sisters of Charity of the Poor of Buffalo, Most Holy Family Monastery and Sisters of Charity of the Poor of Buffalo, New York, Queen of Angels Corp
Website: mostholyfamilymonastery.com
The Most Holy Family Monastery (MHFM) is a sedevacantist organization located in Fillmore, New York, led by brothers Frederick and Robert Dimond, known by their religious names Brother Michael and Brother Peter, respectively. This organization asserts a range of controversial views, positioning itself in stark opposition to the mainstream Catholic Church, especially its post-Vatican II reforms and popes.
History
Born in 1933, Joseph Natale, the founder of MHFM, had a challenging life from the onset. At four years old, he contracted tuberculosis of the bone which necessitated using crutches to walk for the rest of his life, but was also passionate about religion. In 1960, he joined the Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, as a lay postulant. However, Natale left after less than a year, having never taken vows nor become a corresponding monk per the records at Saint Vincent Archabbey.
In 1967, with financial assistance from a benefactor, Natale procured a property in Berlin, New Jersey, intending to establish a religious community there. He initially invited seven other men with disabilities to join him. However, due to the rudimentary setup of the place, which only had a small house and the difficulties encountered given their disabilities, Natale sent the men away until the Monastery could be furnished sufficiently.
MHFM initially sought to preserve traditional Benedictine practices. The monastery hosted conferences and welcomed notable traditionalist speakers. However, Natale’s vision for the Monastery underwent a significant shift over time. His focus veered towards safeguarding the original Catholic faith against decisions from the Church’s hierarchy that he perceived as harmful to conventional Catholicism. These included contentious issues such as the suppression of the Tridentine Mass and allowing the use of natural family planning. Consequently, by the mid-1970s, the Monastery had fully disconnected from institutionalized Church.
In the heart of the monastery, the St. Jude Shrine chapel was sanctified and dedicated on June 8, 1980, named in honor of the “patron saint of hopeless causes”. Increasingly popular, the weekly Mass at the chapel attracted approximately 150 attendees each Sunday by 1987, and by mid-1994, the number had nearly doubled, attracting between two and three hundred worshipers. The Queen of Angels Corp, the precursor to the Most Holy Family Monastery, was incorporated in 1993 as a New York Domestic Not-For-Profit Corporation classified under the business type “religious organization”.
In 1995, Joseph Natale passed away, and the mantle of leadership was transferred to Michael Dimond, born as Frederick Dimond. Michael had joined MHFM in 1992 at the age of 19, after converting to Catholicism four years earlier. Under the leadership of Brother Michael Dimond, MHFM shifted significantly towards sedevacantism, a stance that claims the papal seat has been vacant due to the heresy of the post-Vatican II popes. This transition also involved relocating to upstate New York.
Beliefs and Practices
MHFM’s beliefs diverge sharply from those of the wider Catholic community. They denounce all popes following Pope Pius XII as heretics, rendering their papacies illegitimate. Their opposition extends to many modern Catholic practices, including natural family planning, which they reject as inconsistent with their interpretation of infallible teachings. The Dimonds and their associates reject the Vatican II reforms outright, condemning them as heretical and asserting that the mass of Paul VI is invalid. MHFM goes further, labeling the post-Vatican II Catholic Church as the “Vatican II sect” and advocating for the salvation exclusivity of the traditional Catholic faith.
The organization also holds strong opinions regarding the sacraments in the Catholic Church. None of the members of MHFM, including the Dimond brothers, have been ordained to the priesthood, and they advise followers to stay home on Sundays to pray the rosary instead of attending masses they deem invalid. They firmly believe that the Mass of Paul VI, inaugurated following Vatican II, is invalid. The MHFM also rejects even the Tridentine Mass, permitted by Benedict XVI in 2007, considering it compromised because it incorporates changes made by Pope John XXIII, whom they believe to be an antipope. Moreover, MHFM categorically denies doctrines of baptism of desire and baptism of blood, staunchly asserting that there is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church.
However, despite their firm stance against attending Catholic masses, they advise their followers to seek the sacrament of confession from Eastern Catholic priests, or from Latin Church priests who were ordained before measures introduced by the Second Vatican Council altered the rite of ordination in 1968.
MHFM has also made claims of miraculous experiences and prophecies. According to research by Michael Cuneo, the monastery’s founder, Joseph Natale, claimed to have the gift of prophecy, notably predicting the murder of Pope John Paul I due to his desire to return the Church to its traditions. Natale claimed this insight came to him in a trance, along with a vision that John Paul II would be the next pope, albeit one whose actions would be heavily influenced by Communist advisers within the Vatican. These claims extend to apocalyptic predictions, such as the world having only five years left from a point in 1994.
In terms of literature, the Dimond brothers have authored a variety of texts critiquing modern Catholicism and exploring controversial viewpoints. Notably, Frederick Dimond, also known as Brother Michael, wrote “UFOs: Demonic Activity & Elaborate Hoaxes Meant to Deceive Mankind”, published in 2008 by the Most Holy Family Monastery.
Controversies
Critics and observers note MHFM’s extreme positions on various social issues and religious teachings. Their website promotes controversial claims about the Holocaust, describes homosexual thoughts as a mortal sin, and denounces contraception as well as sexual relations during a woman’s menstrual cycle. Furthermore, MHFM holds that aborted babies are condemned to Hell due to their unbaptized status, a belief that aligns with their stringent views on baptism and salvation. Such positions have led to widespread criticism, including from the Southern Poverty Law Center, which lists MHFM as a hate group under the category of radical traditional Catholicism for its antisemitic and extremist views. The Catholic League, in its annual report on anti-Catholicism in 1999, also described MHFM as a renegade group that undermines papal authority, referencing their publication of a pamphlet titled “101 Heresies of Anti-Pope John Paul II”.
Conclusion
MHFM’s journey from its humble beginnings to its current status as a sedevacantist stronghold illustrates the fervent quest for religious purity and the rejection of institutional authority in favor of personal interpretation and direct spiritual experience. The monastery’s stance on issues such as the legitimacy of recent popes, the validity of the Mass of Paul VI, and controversial viewpoints on historical events underscores a broader dialogue within religious communities about authority, tradition, and the nature of faith.
As the MHFM continues to navigate the complexities of religious identity and expression, its story serves as a reminder of the enduring nature of spiritual inquiry and the diverse paths that search can take. Whether viewed as a fringe movement or a guardian of lost truths, the Most Holy Family Monastery embodies the deep-rooted human desire to connect with the divine in a manner that is authentic and unmediated by institutional constraints. The unfolding narrative of MHFM and its impact on its followers and critics alike is a reflection of the broader challenges and transformations facing religious communities in the modern world.
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