What started as a routine weekend getaway for seminarians from the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in 2024 took a hard turn into the surreal. The archdiocese of Denver confirmed that an exorcist was called in after a bizarre series of events involving a ceremonial dagger, a mysterious blood oath, and a man in a yeti costume.
As first reported in an extensive investigation by The Pillar, a publication covering the Catholic church, the incident is causing controversy and raising questions about the seminary's response, and why it took an exorcist to set things right.
The whole thing began in January 2024, deep in the Elk Mountains, when 15 Denver seminarians — students studying to be Catholic priests — were awoken in the middle of the night and told to sit silently and wait for their turn to take part in a "sacred tradition." Some of the students may have had their mouths gagged with tape, the Pillar reports.
One by one, the seminarians were ushered into a trailer, where they were met by two senior clergymen and a person dressed in a yeti costume, presiding over a bloody dollar bill. At least part of the ritual was captured on video, which was viewed by the Pillar.
"The way it works, the only way you can enter into this family, is you got to make a blood oath," one seminarian is told in the footage. "If you enter into this family, there's no going back."
Stoically, the priest-in-training agrees, and one of the clergymen, Friar John Nepil — a high ranking vice-rector in the archdiocese of Denver — is seen holding a bloody dagger as the seminarian places his arm on the table.
"This is going to hurt for a second, ready?" Nepil reportedly asks, followed by a countdown from three. Before the blade can draw blood, a mysterious voice interjects — possibly the yeti's — insisting that this is not the only way. Since the seminarian had "proven his bravery," he was being allowed to swap out his blood for that of a bear, with the caveat that he make the "most guttural scream you can possibly make," and to "make sure the other guys see you with the blood."
Anyone who's grown up with older siblings has probably figured out that the yeti blood oath was, shockingly, a prank. Though these are clearly just some ski trip antics, videos from the stunt soon made their way around the Catholic church, leading to rumors and some wild responses from the archdiocese.
"Good grief. What year is this?" asked one commentor under the Pillar's article. "Why would inviting a seminarian, by himself, in the middle of the night, to do anything 'secret,' with psychological peer pressure, be considered a good idea? It looks exactly like grooming except that it had a yeti prank instead of a foot massage."
For his part, Nepil was placed on temporary leave while the archdiocese conducted a canonical investigation. He was later reinstated as vice-rector to finish out the academic year, while also being relieved of some of his other duties related to the seminary's Parish house.
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