By Warren Kulo
Letters written by a defrocked priest who “abandoned” his duties to the Archdiocese of Mobile indicate he believes he and the 18-year-old female who accompanied him to Europe were told by Jesus to leave Mobile.
Alex Crow, 30, was stripped of his duties by the Archdiocese last month after he had “abandoned his assignment” and engaged in behavior “totally unbecoming of a priest.”
Crow and the female, a recent McGill-Toolen High School graduate, were located in Italy by a member of the young woman’s family, who said the young woman had traveled with Crow of her own accord.
Much of Crow’s theological background involved the study of demonology and exorcism, with Crow saying in a 2022 podcast a “minor exorcism” had been performed on him by a priest several years ago.
Crow wrote a thesis on demonology and exorcism while in seminary.
There has been rampant speculation Crow and the young woman were traveling to the Spanish town of San Sebastian de Garabandal — where apparitions of Saint Michael the Archangel and Virgin Mary which reportedly appeared to four girls ages 11 and 12 from 1961 to 1965 — possibly for Crow to perform an exorcism on the young woman.
The letters, released Monday by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, make it clear Crow has no intention to return to Mobile.
One is addressed to someone named Joshua, who Crow wrote the teen had “entrusted with this letter.”
The other is to the 18-year-old female, whose name in redacted, in which he wrote that the two were in love and are “married.” It has never been publicly stated whether the two are in fact legally married.
Here they are in their entirety (spelling, punctuation, boldface, etc. have not been edited):
Dear Joshua,
Mary said that you were the one who should be entrusted with this letter. She said She loves you very much and that you are trustworthy. I agree with Her. What I am going to write is what She has told me to write. It will be hard for you to understand what I am doing, but do not worry. It will all make sense one day.
Jesus has told me that He wants me to leave, therefore I am not going to return from this trip. I do this with a heavy heart. It is hard to suddenly leave everything behind, but this is what He is demanding and I cannot deny him.
Let me be very clear: I am not leaving the priesthood. I will neverforsake my sacred duties. The priesthood is the greatest gift Jesus has ever given me, and I will treasure this gift forever.
That said, it is His priesthood, and He can do with me as He pleases. I regularly tell Him: “Jesus, help me do Your Will. Nothing more. Nothing less.” He has heard this prayer, and He is asking everything from me. Let His Will be done.
(Name redacted by MCSO) has been told to come with me. We know how this looks, but we are doing what we are told. Do not worry about defending us. This is hard for her too, but she knows she will always be safe if she does Jesus’ Will.
We will always be thinking and praying for all of you, especially our families and friends. Please pray for us, too. We need it.
In Christ,
Rev. Alexander Crow
A second letter was sent to the 18-year-old on Valentine’s Day:
Dear ***********,
As I write this I’m still experiencing eye dilation, so I apologize if this is hard to read. I can barely read what I’m writing as I do this. Ha!
First things first: I love you, and I thank Jesus for you every day. You have made my life both astronomically more complicated and incredibly better at the same time. You are his gift to me.
Before we fell in love, I promised to always care for you and protect you, like a father. I still look at you and see a child, but in the best way imaginable. You are mine – no one else’s, and I will always be a father to you until I die.
Now, we are in love and we are married! I’ve never been in love before (and I’ve never been married, obviously!), and I’ve never felt any of the feelings I have for you for anyone ever in my entire life. I promise that I will love you the absolute best I can, every single day.