Joseph Di Mambro, one of the founders of the Order of the Solar Temple , was born in Southern France in 1924. While he trained as a clock maker and jeweler, he became interested in esoteric religions. He studied the doctrines of the Rosicrucians and became a member of one order for 13 years. When he left, he had followers for his own brand of religion, paving the way for the Solar Temple.
Along the way, Di Mambro met a charismatic medical doctor from Belgium named Luc Jouret. Born in 1947, Jouret became a tireless worker on behalf of the order, multiplying its membership and taking on the job of guide and prophet. With charm, eloquence, and persuasion, he encouraged people to get involved. Due to their work and convincing natures, the Order of the Solar Temple was born in 1984 in the city of Geneva, Switzerland.
The beliefs of this cult were strange, but due to the members' obedience to their leaders, they complied willingly. They followed a strict paternalistic hierarchy, as most secretive cults do, with Di Mambro and Jouret on top. Luc Jouret convinced his followers that he had been a part of the Knights Templar in a previous life, and that he was now the third incarnation of Christ. Di Mambro was believed to be the 'Cosmic Master', and said that he was the reincarnation of several religious and political leaders. His daughter, Emmanuelle, was one of the nine 'Cosmic Children' who would usher in a 'New Age'.
According to Jouret, death was simply an illusion. Life would continue after death on another planet, which orbits the star Sirius. In order to reach this world, however, the cult members would have to disembark through fire. They would have to perform this ritual before the end of the 1990s, however. They believed that the world was going to suffer an environmental catastrophe and that the crippled world would be consumed in flames. In order to escape this, they would let the fire take the other planet. This belief lead to a mass murder-suicide that left 74 dead.
Along the way, Di Mambro met a charismatic medical doctor from Belgium named Luc Jouret. Born in 1947, Jouret became a tireless worker on behalf of the order, multiplying its membership and taking on the job of guide and prophet. With charm, eloquence, and persuasion, he encouraged people to get involved. Due to their work and convincing natures, the Order of the Solar Temple was born in 1984 in the city of Geneva, Switzerland.
The beliefs of this cult were strange, but due to the members' obedience to their leaders, they complied willingly. They followed a strict paternalistic hierarchy, as most secretive cults do, with Di Mambro and Jouret on top. Luc Jouret convinced his followers that he had been a part of the Knights Templar in a previous life, and that he was now the third incarnation of Christ. Di Mambro was believed to be the 'Cosmic Master', and said that he was the reincarnation of several religious and political leaders. His daughter, Emmanuelle, was one of the nine 'Cosmic Children' who would usher in a 'New Age'.
According to Jouret, death was simply an illusion. Life would continue after death on another planet, which orbits the star Sirius. In order to reach this world, however, the cult members would have to disembark through fire. They would have to perform this ritual before the end of the 1990s, however. They believed that the world was going to suffer an environmental catastrophe and that the crippled world would be consumed in flames. In order to escape this, they would let the fire take the other planet. This belief lead to a mass murder-suicide that left 74 dead.
In 1994 Morin, Quebec, Joseph Di Mambro and his followers slaughtered a family of three. The infant child, who was 3 months old, was believed to be the Antichrist. The child's mother, a former cult member, was ordered not to have children, but she fled to Quebec in order to escape Di Mambro's anger. The child, Christopher-Emmanuel, was born there. The Dutoits were considered traitors and wold continue to disrupt the spiritual progress of the cult until they were eliminated. They family of three were killed in their home, stabbed to death and then burned. When the baby's corpse was found, it was discovered that cult members had stabbed the child 6 times in the chest with a wooden stake. This is obviously a brutal and immoral action but, to keep peace among the cult, members complied to Di Mambro's orders. The slaughter of the Dutoits is an example of groupthink, a phenomenon in which members of a group dispel their morals in order to maintain harmony within a group.
Di Mambro and 12 followers had a ritual Last Supper together a few days later. Soon after, the murders and suicides began. Groups, arranged in a star formation, were found in burned buildings and forests, the bodies displaying clues as to how each cult member died. Many were shot in the head, as much as eight times, before the leader of their murderous group would pour gasoline over their bodies and set fire to them. Immediately following, that leader would then shoot themselves and fall into the flames as to be transported to the planet with the rest of them. Some members rebelled, though, and were deemed the independents of the cult, not wanting to conform with everyone else in the group.
On December 15 of 1994, in Grenoble, France, sixteen people were found dead and burned in a forest. Fourteen of them were arranged in the signature wheel-like 'star' pattern and all of the people were members of the Solar Temple. One woman was found with a fractured jaw, indicating a struggle, and three were children, all showing signs that they did not go willingly to their deaths. Overall, seventy-four people died in total from the ideas placed in their heads by Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret, each committing suicide as well. The Order of the Solar Temple was believed to be dormant until a recent study showed that, today, there are between 140-500 members living presently in Canada, France, and Switzerland. They seem to still practice their rituals but there seems to be little concern from authorities that anymore 'death-voyages' or otherwise will take place.
Di Mambro and 12 followers had a ritual Last Supper together a few days later. Soon after, the murders and suicides began. Groups, arranged in a star formation, were found in burned buildings and forests, the bodies displaying clues as to how each cult member died. Many were shot in the head, as much as eight times, before the leader of their murderous group would pour gasoline over their bodies and set fire to them. Immediately following, that leader would then shoot themselves and fall into the flames as to be transported to the planet with the rest of them. Some members rebelled, though, and were deemed the independents of the cult, not wanting to conform with everyone else in the group.
On December 15 of 1994, in Grenoble, France, sixteen people were found dead and burned in a forest. Fourteen of them were arranged in the signature wheel-like 'star' pattern and all of the people were members of the Solar Temple. One woman was found with a fractured jaw, indicating a struggle, and three were children, all showing signs that they did not go willingly to their deaths. Overall, seventy-four people died in total from the ideas placed in their heads by Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret, each committing suicide as well. The Order of the Solar Temple was believed to be dormant until a recent study showed that, today, there are between 140-500 members living presently in Canada, France, and Switzerland. They seem to still practice their rituals but there seems to be little concern from authorities that anymore 'death-voyages' or otherwise will take place.