Friends of the Eucharist was a traditionalist religious organization founded in 1999 by Ronald J. O’Brien in Keene, New Hampshire. Before establishing the group, O’Brien was known as Ronald J. Woodruff. In 1991, he was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service for his role in a $300,000 credit-card fraud scheme and later served 13 months in federal prison in North Carolina. During sentencing, a federal judge ordered him to undergo psychiatric treatment after a medical examination found that he regularly heard voices. After completing his prison sentence and three years of probation, he married in 1995 and changed his surname to O’Brien.
The origins of Friends of the Eucharist began in September 1998, when O’Brien claimed that religious statues and paintings inside his house were miraculously oozing oil, which he called the “tears of God.” By early 1999, he said thousands of Holy Communion hosts had begun appearing in plastic bags through divine intervention. O’Brien further claimed that the wafers were stained with the true blood of Christ.
His claims quickly attracted public attention. In March 1999, O’Brien appeared on a New Jersey religious radio program and spoke at Neumann College in Pennsylvania, where his presentation was videotaped and widely distributed. The following month, he launched the Friends of the Eucharist website, which received more than 108,000 visits from dozens of countries and accepted credit-card donations.
By the summer of 1999, thousands of visitors traveled to Keene to view the alleged miracles and attend religious services held in O’Brien’s backyard. In July, he declared himself a prophet and began delivering weekly messages that he said came directly from God. He also published these messages online, calling for a return to traditional Catholicism, the restoration of the Latin Mass, and the exclusion of women from serving at the altar. O’Brien also criticized the Roman Catholic Church for what he described as its “wayward and evil ways.” In response, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester publicly denounced his claims and advised Catholics not to participate in Friends of the Eucharist.
As the organization grew, cult researchers and law enforcement expressed concerns about O’Brien’s leadership and the group’s structure. Critics identified several characteristics they associated with high-control groups, including O’Brien’s self-identification as a prophet, the isolation of followers, and the use of apocalyptic rhetoric. Observers also noted that the group’s focus had shifted from its original religious message to O’Brien himself, who increasingly divided loyal followers from outsiders through hostile electronic communications.
The organization reportedly collected more than $100,000 in donations. During the summer of 1999, O’Brien stopped distributing the communion hosts free of charge and instead began asking $3,333.33 for each host, explaining that the amount represented Christ’s age at his death. This activity prompted the Keene Police Department to investigate possible theft by deception.
The investigation challenged the group’s central miracle claims. Records obtained from church-supply companies in Arizona and Minnesota showed that O’Brien had used a Discover credit card to purchase 9,225 standard communion hosts between May and August 1999. In addition, testing by the New Hampshire State Police laboratory concluded that the red stains on the hosts consisted of a water-soluble dye rather than blood.
O’Brien initially claimed the purchased hosts had been intended for poor foreign parishes, although local clergy disputed that any anonymous donations had been made. Ultimately, prosecutors declined to file criminal charges, concluding that proving O’Brien’s intent to deceive donors would be difficult under the applicable legal standard.
In October 1999, O’Brien relocated with his family to Kiltimagh, Ireland, while continuing to direct Friends of the Eucharist through the internet. From Ireland, he issued increasingly apocalyptic prophecies, predicting that between January 19 and 31, 2000, a black cross would appear suspended in the stratosphere. He also forecast a worldwide healing event on April 13, 2000, in Garabandal, Spain, followed by an Armageddon that would kill four billion people if humanity rejected his teachings. O’Brien also directed followers to organize a religious militia known as “The Sons of Light,” instructing members to prepare in northern New Hampshire to defend his beliefs.
Despite the failure of the January 2000 black-cross prophecy and the public disclosure that the communion hosts had been commercially purchased, core members of Friends of the Eucharist continued to express confidence in O’Brien.
Key Sources:
Rourke, B. (2000, February 6). No signs, no crosses: Prophecy is unfulfilled. The Keene Sentinel.
Rourke, B. (2000, January 12). Cult experts are alarmed by Keene prophet’s case. The Keene Sentinel.
Rourke, B. (2000, January 27). No charges for false prophet. The Keene Sentinel.