A seminary asked seminarians to be willing to swear a “blood oath” to a Yeti. It was just a prank, we’re being told. Just some fun!!!

I’m all for a bunch of guys having some fun but this seems a touch out of bounds to me. This is not supposed to be a frat hazing experiment. You’re supposed to be preparing these young men to act as Christ in the world.

Whoever was in charge of this was clearly not taking their responsibilities seriously.

The Pillar: Clergy in the Archdiocese of Denver are divided over the handling of a controversial “blood oath” ceremony involving a vice rector and seminarians during a ski trip last year.

A group of seminarians studying at Denver’s St. John Vianney Theological Seminary were taken on the trip in January 2024 by then-vice rector of the seminary, Fr. John Nepil, during which they were woken in the middle of the night and invited individually to swear a “blood oath” in a ceremony involving a dagger and a man in a yeti costume.

During the bizarre ceremony, video of which was sent to The Pillar by multiple sources in the archdiocese, seminarians were told to scream as if in pain before returning with a bloodied cloth wrapped around their hand and their mouths taped shut, to a room where others waited for their turn to be brought in.

The Archdiocese of Denver, in a statement to The Pillar, characterized the event as a “farce” and said that “it was, however, part of a deeply imprudent and inappropriate prank,” and that a full investigation had been completed.

“The individual responsible has since been removed from his seminary leadership role and has recommitted to his ongoing personal and spiritual formation,” the archdiocese said.

The fallout of the event has divided students, faculty, and clergy in the diocese, with videos and images of the event circulating for several months.

Fr. Nepil told The Pillar he had “acknowledged [his] imprudence, apologized to the archbishop and the seminarians involved,” and said that while the event was intended as a “prank,” he took responsibility for what had happened.

While some in Denver have characterized the affair as unacceptable hijinx and imprudence, others consider the ritual spiritually troubling and deeply problematic — with video footage being forwarded to the apostolic nunciature in Washington, and some dioceses considering whether to withdraw students from study at the Denver seminary in the wake of the events.

Further division has been caused by what some local clergy call a “contradictory” and “confused” handling of the issue by the archdiocese.

But while the archdiocese said in its statement to The Pillar that Fr. Nepil “was removed from his position as a formator and house father immediately after the incident was uncovered,” he returned to his post as vice rector until the end of the 2024-25 academic year and remains on the seminary’s academic faculty as a professor.

Following an archdiocesan investigation last year, the seminary rector was also removed from his position and was replaced midway through the academic year.