Rocco Leo was born in Italy in 1956 and was said to have survived a near-death experience after nearly drowning in a shipping channel at age six. He would claim to have been dead for several hours and that he was revived through his mother’s prayers. Leo also said this experience gifted him with divine powers.
Leo was involved in various criminal enterprises in his early life, including theft and running a brothel. After a period in jail, he pursued a degree in religion and founded Agape Ministries in Australia in 1993.
The ministry initially attracted followers through claims of miraculous faith healings, but as it became more successful, Leo began to demand more control over his followers. Ex-members say that Leo claimed to be God and that Jesus had not been divine. Any questioning of his authority was met with accusations of demonic possession. He preached that the world would end in 2012 and that believers were being controlled by microchips implanted by the government. Members were discouraged from seeking medical treatment, and though the ministry had a strict ban on sex for any purpose other than procreation, former members allege that underage girls were groomed for partnership with much older men.
In 2010, Australian authorities raided Agape Ministries and discovered stockpiles of illegal weapons, as well as evidence that members were being trained to confront law enforcement and in the use of explosives. Leo fled to Fiji, where he was arrested about one year later. The assets of Agape Ministries were ordered to be sold off to compensate ex-members who had been coerced into giving substantial money to the group.
Key Sources:
Adelaide Now (2017, March 9). Cultist: Judge me and the hand of God comes down.
The Australian (2011, June 26). Aussie doomsday cult leader arrested.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation News (2011, June 26). Fugitive Agape leader arrested in Fiji.
Fewster, S. (2011, June 26). Doomsday cult’s empire dismantled by SA court. News.com.au.
Zurbeck, J. (2023, July 19). Agape – Adelaide’s abandoned Doomsday Cult Headquarters. Jim’s Urbex.
Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religious Movements 