The first time I encountered José Álvarez Franco, better known as Padre Patillas, or “Father Sideburns,” was during a baptismal service in his church in Tateposco when he referred to me as a “gringo” during the mass, prompting laughter throughout the congregation.

Police have detained a man who while posing as a priest offered his services to “bless” business premises and even handle divorces.

“I came here to find healing for my arthritis,” says Valeria, sitting on the pew of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, known as Pare de sufrir, or stop suffering. “I was raised Catholic, but I came to know God in a different way here.”