Monk vanishes from secluded monastery ‘warned about unauthorised exorcisms’

A monk living in a secluded island monastery is presumed dead after vanishing.

Justin Evans, 24, known as Brother Ignatius, was wearing a white robe when he disappeared from the Golgotha Monastery on the remote island of Papa Stronsay, Orkney.

His church fears ‘he came to harm in conditions involving the sea’.

The Diocese of Aberdeen has expressed its sadness at what it referred to as the ‘disappearance and presumed death’ of the 24-year-old, who is originally from New Zealand and is a member of the Redemptorist Community.

Members of the Catholic order, modelled on the rule of St Alphonsus Liguori, were told to leave the diocese in July 2024, after a Vatican investigation into allegations of abuse and unauthorised exorcisms, the Catholic Herald reported.

On Thursday, Police Scotland said searches of Papa Stronsay and nearby islands would continue in the coming days.

Inspector David Hall said: ‘Our thoughts are very much with Justin’s family at what is a very difficult time.

‘Extensive and detailed searches using local police resources and partner agencies have been carried out on the islands of Papa Stronsay and Stronsay, including along the shorelines.

‘Coastal areas on other nearby islands will continue to be searched by local and specialist police resources and partners.

‘Any further relevant information reported to police about Justin and the circumstances leading up to him going missing will be acted upon.

‘At this time there is nothing to suggest any suspicious circumstances or criminality.’

Earlier, the Diocese of Aberdeen said Brother Ignatius ‘was known for his humility and charity’.

A spokesperson said: ‘The Diocese has learned with deep sadness of the disappearance and presumed death of Justin Evans, also known as Brother Ignatius, aged 24, a member of the Redemptorist Community on the island of Papa Stronsay.’

The monastery, was founded in the late 1980s, by the traditionalist Catholic order Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer.

The order appealed the ban, but in August last year Bishop Michael Gielen of the Diocese of Christchurch said that it had been rejected, the Catholic Herald reported.

The order, also known as Transalpine Redemptorists, was founded to maintain the practice of celebrating the liturgy in Latin at a time when the Roman Catholic Church was encouraging priests to use local languages, the BBC reported.

A group of the order’s monks banded together to purchase Papa Stronsay after its founder, Father Michael Mary, and some of the priests and brothers visited Orkney on holiday.