They believed that the apocalypse was coming. They organized a shocking ritual. They didn’t even spare the children

The Order of the Temple of the Sun gained worldwide fame in the period from September 1994 to March 1997, when the burned bodies of 74 of its members were found in Switzerland, Canada, and then in France. On October 5, 1994, 23 bodies were discovered in a burned farm in the canton of Freiburg. Another 25 bodies were found in the canton of Valais. Several people were shot in the head or strangled, and many were drugged in what apparently amounted to ritual murders, although some were believed to have willingly participated in the alleged mass suicides. Among the dead were also two founders of the sect, Luc Jouret and Jo Di Mambro.

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Order of the Sun Temple. Shocking truths about the sect from Switzerland

The Order of the Temple of the Sun was a secret society modeled on the Knights Templar. Frenchmen Luc Jouret and Joseph Di Mambro founded the sect in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Geneva, Switzerland. They drew on the ideological perspectives of the Templars and combined their theories, drawing inspiration from New Age philosophy, the practices of the occultist Aleister Crowley, as well as Islam and Christianity. The leader of this little-known cult, Joseph Di Mambro, brainwashed his followers into believing that in a previous life he was part of the Christian Templar Order that dominated the 14th century. Moreover, he convinced them that Emanuelle, his daughter, was a “space child”. The cult had three main goals, namely correcting ideas related to power, organizing the second coming of Christ as the solar King and God, and waiting for the union of Islam with all Christian cults. The apocalyptic development of the Order of the Temple of the Sun began in the 1980s, when Jouret began lecturing at his sessions on the catastrophic upheavals that threatened the continued existence of the planet. His lectures hinted at the possibility that members could leave their earthly bodies and reunite on a “Death Journey” that would take them to a star called Sirius. According to Jouret, the world will meet its end due to the environmental damage humans are causing to the planet and only a few humans, members of the cult, will have the privilege of leaving the planet and reaching Sirius by passing through the fire.

Mass suicide or murder? 74 members of the sect died in a terrible ritual

The mysterious cult became famous in 1994, when, as a result of a shocking event in Freiburg, in the Swiss canton, 23 bodies were discovered and another 25 in Valais. A few hours earlier, three people were murdered in Canada. It was a married couple from Switzerland with a son who was considered the Antichrist. As a result of these beliefs, he was stabbed multiple times with a wooden stake. The sect’s suicide acts continued from 1994 to 1997, and in total, a shocking number of 74 sect followers committed mass suicide. Most of the corpses were discovered wearing ritual cult robes. The bodies discovered among those killed in Switzerland included: the leaders of the sect, Luc Jouret and Joseph Di Mambro, Di Mambro’s daughter Emmanuelle and her mother, as well as the son of the founder of the Order, Elie Di Mambro. Since most of the cult members who were found dead had been shot or drugged, doubts were raised about the assumption that they were actually willing participants in the mass suicides. Most of the deceased members allegedly died at the hands of others. Investigators even found bruises on some of the bodies, both new and old, suggesting that violence had been used against them.

You need help?

If you are experiencing difficulties and are thinking about taking your own life or want to help someone at risk of suicide, remember that you can use the free help numbers:

• Support Center for Adults in Mental Crisis: 800-70-2222
• Helpline for Children and Youth: 116 111
• Emotional support phone number for adults: 116 123

Below you will find more information on how to help yourself or others, as well as contacts to organizations helping people in crisis and their loved ones. If suicidal thoughts or a suicide attempt are life-threatening, for immediate crisis intervention, call the police on 112 or go to the emergency department of your local psychiatric hospital.