A letter written by a defrocked priest who “abandoned” his duties to the Archdiocese of Mobile indicates he and the 18-year-old female who accompanied him to Europe were told by Jesus to leave Mobile.

Alex Crow, 30, was stripped of his duties by the Archdiocese last month after he had “abandoned his assignment” and engaged in behavior “totally unbecoming of a priest.”

Crow and the female, a recent McGill-Toolen High School graduate, were located in Italy by a member of the young woman’s family, who said the young woman had traveled with Crow of her own accord.

Much of Crow’s theological background involved the study of demonology and exorcism, with Crow saying in a 2022 podcast a “minor exorcism” had been performed on him by a priest several years ago.

Crow wrote a thesis on demonology and exorcism while in seminary.

There has been rampant speculation Crow and the young woman were traveling to the Spanish town of San Sebastian de Garabandal — where apparitions of Saint Michael the Archangel and Virgin Mary which reportedly appeared to four girls ages 11 and 12 from 1961 to 1965 — possibly for Crow to perform an exorcism on the young woman.

The letter, released Monday by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, makes it clear Crow has no intention to return to Mobile. It is addressed to someone named Joshua, who Crow wrote the teen had “entrusted with this letter.”

Here it is in it’s entirety (spelling, punctuation, boldface, etc. have not been edited):

Dear Joshua,

Mary said that you were the one who should be entrusted with this letter. She said She loves you very much and that you are trustworthy. I agree with Her. What I am going to write is what She has told me to write. It will be hard for you to understand what I am doing, but do not worry. It will all make sense one day.

Jesus has told me that He wants me to leave, therefore I am not going to return from this trip. I do this with a heavy heart. It is hard to suddenly leave everything behind, but this is what He is demanding and I cannot deny him.

Let me be very clear: I am not leaving the priesthood. I will never forsake my sacred duties. The priesthood is the greatest gift Jesus has ever given me, and I will treasure this gift forever.

That said, it is His priesthood, and He can do with me as He pleases. I regularly tell Him: “Jesus, help me do Your Will. Nothing more. Nothing less.” He has heard this prayer, and He is asking everything from me. Let His Will be done.

(Name redacted by MCSO) has been told to come with me. We know how this looks, but we are doing what we are told. Do not worry about defending us. This is hard for her too, but she knows she will always be safe if she does Jesus’ Will.

We will always be thinking and praying for all of you, especially our families and friends. Please pray for us, too. We need it.

In Christ,

Rev. Alexander Crow

The letter was apparently written prior to Crow’s departure and before the Archdiocese stripped him of his duties.

The sheriff’s office gave no indication as to why it was releasing the letter at this point, other than to say they “wanted to make sure our local media had this first.”