Priest Visiting Joliet 'Suspended' Amid Joliet Police Department Probe

JOLIET — The Diocese of Joliet now finds itself the subject of an investigation involving allegations that a traveling priest engaged in criminal behavior with students. The incident happened at the new parish campus for the former St. Paul's and St. Jude's.

"The ministry of Fr. Carlos Martins has been temporarily suspended pending an ongoing police investigation into a recent complaint at one of his relic expositions that took place in the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois," the Companions of The Cross website announced. "Fr. Roger Vandenakker, General Superior of the Companions of the Cross, has been fully informed of this matter."

Joliet Patch reached out to the Joliet Police Department on Monday seeking more information.

"At this time, I can confirm that an investigation is underway regarding an incident involving a priest and students of Queen of Apostles School," Joliet Police Spokesman Dwayne English informed Joliet Patch on Monday. "Officers responded to the school on November 21. The students involved are safe. It was learned that the priest is from out of town and traveling with the Tour of the Relic of St. Jude. The safety and well-being of the students is our top priority, and we are working closely with diocese officials to gather all necessary information. Due to the ongoing nature of this investigation, I am unable to provide further details at this time."

Queen of the Apostles Pastor Michael Lane issued a statement acknowledging the incident, but Lane's statement withheld details of the allegations and Lane withheld the name of the priest. The Pillar, an online news website that reports on the Catholic Church, identified the priest as Fr. Carlos Martins, who is well-known for his 2023 podcast series featuring dramatic audio portrayals of allegedly demonic encounters Martins claims to have experienced in ministry as an exorcist.

According to his website, Father Martins hails from Detroit.

According to the statement from the priests assigned to the new parish campus at St. Paul's, which is now called Queen of Apostles, on Thursday, Queen of Apostles hosted the visit of the relic of St. Jude for public veneration. The statement goes on, "A non-profit, outside ministry called 'Treasures of the Church' was responsible for hosting the relic in the United States. The relic has been on a national pilgrimage in the United States for over a year. The tour and the relic were overseen by a priest with the Companions of the Cross, an Order of priests in Canada.

"During the course of the day’s veneration in Queen of Apostles Church, an incident with the priest and some students was reported to have happened in our church," the church said in the statement, adding, "We immediately contacted the police. A police investigation is still ongoing. The priest was confronted with the information. We informed the priest that he must depart from our parish and out of our Diocese."

In an abundance of caution, the church said it "decided that the remainder of the veneration of the relic and evening mass would be cancelled. These decisions and actions were in accordance with our Diocesan Safe Environment Policies and our Standards of Behavior. The incident was also immediately reported to Bishop Ronald Hicks of the Diocese of Joliet, who supported our decision to cancel the remainder of the event and on the evening of November 21, Bishop Hicks cancelled the tour of the relic scheduled at two more of our parishes this week. Bishop Hicks also informed the Superior of the Companions of the Cross Order of priests. All involved in this incident are safe."

According to the story published by The Pillar, Martins said he chose to produce performances of allegedly demonic activity because lectures on the subject are “boring,” adding that “dramatizations of actual events give the listener a better appreciation of the adversarial nature of evil and what can happen when it makes its way into our lives.”

The Pillar also reported that Martins has said that his podcast had resulted in numerous speaking and interview invitations for him, and told the Chicago Tribune this year that "The Exorcist Files" is "one of the most popular podcasts in the world in the religion and spirituality sphere."