Merry Christmas: that priest is a fake

You hear about these things from time to time, but I’ve never heard of an imposter who fooled the public for nearly two decades.

Here’s a stunner for the holidays:

A man who pretended to be a priest for more than 18 years has been dismissed by the Catholic Church in Spain.

Miguel Angel Ibarra carried out weddings and baptisms, first in Colombia and then in southern Spain, despite having never been ordained.

Those ceremonies will still be recognized, the Church says, but not his communions or the confessions he heard.

He was found to be an impostor after a complaint was filed in Colombia.

The complainant alleged Mr Ibarra had forged his documents.

After a “thorough investigation”, it was found that he had never been ordained and he has now been ordered to return to Colombia, Church officials say.

Read on.