Testimony of Father Amorth: my first exorcism

 

Every time I do an exorcism I go into battle. Before entering, I wear an armor. A purple stole whose flaps are longer than those that priests usually wear when they say mass. I often wrap the stole around the shoulders of the possessed. It is effective, it serves to reassure the possessed when, during exorcism, they go into a trance, drool, scream, acquire superhuman strength and attack. So I take the Latin book with the exorcism formulas with me. Blessed water that I sometimes spray on the possessed. And a crucifix with the medal of Saint Benedict set inside. It is a particular medal, much feared by Satan.

The battle lasts for hours. And it almost never ends with liberation. To free a possessed takes years. Many years. Satan is difficult to defeat. Often hides. It is hidden. Try not to be found. The exorcist must flush him out. You must force him to reveal his name to him. And then, in the name of Christ, he has to force him out. Satan defends himself by all means. The exorcist gets help from collaborators in charge of keeping the possessed. None of these can speak to the possessed. If they did, Satan would take advantage of it to attack them. The only one who can speak to the possessed is the exorcist. The latter does not dialogue with Satan. He simply gives him orders. If he talked to him, Satan would confuse him until he defeated him.

Today I do exorcisms on five or six people a day. Until a few months ago I did many more, even ten or twelve. I always exorcise, even on Sunday. Even at Christmas. So much so that one day Father Candido said to me: «You must take some days off. You can't always exorcise. " "But I'm not like you," I replied. "You have a gift that I don't have. Only by receiving a person for a few minutes can you tell if he is possessed or not. I don't have this gift. Before understanding I have to receive and exorcise ». Over the years I have gained a lot of experience. But this does not mean that "the game" is easier. Each exorcism is a case in itself. The difficulties I encounter today are the same that I encountered the first time when, after months of rehearsals alone at home, Father Candido said to me: «Courage, it's up to you today. Today you go into battle ».

"Are you sure I'm ready?"
«Nobody is ever ready for this kind of thing. But you are sufficiently prepared to begin. Remember. Every battle has its risks. You will have to run them one by one. »
The fateful moment
The Antonianum is a large complex located in Rome in via Merulana, not far from Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano. There, in a room hardly accessible to most, I make my first big exorcism. It is February 21, 1987. A Franciscan friar of Croatian origin, Father Massimiliano, asked Father Candido for help in the case of a farmer from the Roman countryside who, in his opinion, needs to be exorcised. Father Candido says to him: «I don't have time. I am sending you Father Amorth. ' I enter the Antonianum room alone. I arrived a few minutes early. I don't know what to expect. I did a lot of practice. I have studied everything there is to study. But operating in the field is another thing. I know little about the person I have to exorcise. Father Candido was rather vague. The first to enter the room is Father Massimiliano. Behind him, a slender figure. A twenty-five year old man, thin. Its humble origins can be seen. We see that every day it has to do with a beautiful but also very hard job. The hands are bony and wrinkled. Hands working the earth. Before you even start talking to him, an unexpected third person enters.
"Who is she?" I ask.
"I'm the translator," he says.
"The translator?"
I look at Father Massimiliano and ask for explanations. I know that admitting an unprepared person to the room where an exorcism takes place can be fatal. Satan during an exorcism attacks those present if unprepared. Father Massimiliano reassures me: «Didn't they tell you? When he goes into a trance he speaks only in English. We need a translator. Otherwise we don't know what he wants to tell us. He is a prepared person. He knows how to behave. He will not commit naivety ». I wear the stole, take the breviary and the crucifix in my hand. I have blessed water close at hand. I begin to recite the Latin exorcism. «Do not remember, Lord, our faults or our parents and do not punish us for our sins. Our Father ... And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. "

A statue of salt
The possessed is a statue of salt. Does not speak. It doesn't react. He sits motionless on the wooden chair where I made him sit. I recite Psalm 53. "God, for your name save me, for your power do me justice. God, listen to my prayer, give ear to the words of my mouth, since the arrogant and the arrogant have threatened my life against me, they do not place God before them ... ». Still no reaction. The farmer is silent, his gaze fixed on the ground. (...) «Save your servant here, my God, because he hopes in you. Be for him, Lord, fortress tower. In the face of the enemy, nothing can the enemy against him. And the son of iniquity cannot harm him. Lord, send your help from the holy place. And from Zion send him the defense. Lord, answer my prayer. And my cry reaches you. The Lord be with you. And with your spirit".

It is at this point that, suddenly, the farmer raises his head and stares at me. And at the same instant it explodes into an angry and frightening scream. Turn red and start screaming English invectives. It remains seated. It doesn't come close to me. It seems to fear me. But together he wants to scare me. "Priest, stop it! Shut up, shut up, shut up! "
And down swear words, swear words, threats. I accelerate with the ritual. (...) The possessed continues to shout: "Shut up, shut up, shut up." And spit on the ground and on me. He is furious. He looks like a lion ready to jump. It is evident that its prey is me. I understand that I must go on. And I get to "Praecipio tibi" - "Command to you". I remember well what Father Candido had said to me the times he had instructed me on the tricks to use: «Always remember that" Praecipio tibi "is often the final prayer. Remember that it is the prayer most feared by demons. I really believe it is the most effective. When the going gets tough, when the devil is furious and seems strong and unassailable, he quickly arrives there. You will benefit from it in battle. You will see how effective that prayer is. Recite it aloud, with authority. Throw it on the possessed. You will see the effects ». (...) The possessed continues to scream. Now his lament is a howl that seems to come from the bowels of the earth. I insist. "I exorcise you, most unclean spirit, every irruption of the enemy, every diabolical legion, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to uproot you and flee from this creature of God".

Frightening screams
The scream becomes howl. And it gets stronger and stronger. It seems infinite. "Listen well and tremble, O Satan, enemy of faith, adversary of men, cause of death, thief of life, adversary of justice, root of evils, fomite of vices, seducer of men, deceiver of peoples, incitement of envy, origin of avarice, cause of discord, arousing suffering ». His eyes go backwards. The head dangles behind the back of the chair. The scream continues very high and frightening. Father Maximilian tries to hold him still while the translator steps back frightened. I signal him to step back further. Satan is going wild. «Why do you stand there and resist, while you know that Christ the Lord has destroyed your designs? Fear him who was immolated in the figure of Isaac, was sold in the person of Joseph, was killed in the figure of the lamb, was crucified as a man and then triumphed over hell. Go in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ».

The devil does not seem to yield. But his cry now subsides. Now look at me. A little burr comes out of his mouth. I go after him. I know I have to force him to reveal himself, to tell me his name. If he tells me his name, it is a sign that he is almost defeated. In fact, by revealing myself, I force him to play cards face up. «And now tell me, unclean spirit, who are you? Tell me your name! Tell me, in the name of Jesus Christ, your name! ». It is the first time that I do a big exorcism and, therefore, it is the first time that I ask a demon to reveal his name to me. His answer chills me. "I'm Lucifer," he says in a low voice and slowly cadencing all the syllables. "I am Lucifer." I don't have to give in. I don't have to give up now. I don't have to look scared. I must continue the exorcism with authority. I'm the one who leads the game. Not him.

«I impose on you, ancient snake, in the name of the judge of the living and the dead, of your Creator, of the Creator of the world, of the one who has the power to rush you into Gehenna, so that he will go away immediately, with fear and together with the your furious army, from this servant of God who appealed to the Church. Lucifer, I impose you again, not by virtue of my weakness, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, to come out of this servant of God, whom Almighty God has created in his image. Therefore, yield, not to me but to the minister of Christ. The power of him who subjugated you with his cross imposes it on you. He trembles before the strength of the one who, having overcome the infernal sufferings, has brought the souls back to the light ».

The possessed returns to howling. His head thrown back behind the back of the chair. Curved back. More than an hour has passed. Father Candido has always said to me: «As long as you have energy and strength, go on. You shouldn't give in. An exorcism can last even one day. Only give in when you understand that your body is not holding up. " I think back to all the words that Father Candido said to me. I wish he were here near me. But there is not. I have to do it alone. (...)

Before I started, I didn't think it could happen. But suddenly I have a clear feeling of the demonic presence before me. I feel this demon staring at me. He peers at me. It turns around me. The air has turned cold. There is a terrible cold. Father Candido had also warned me of these temperature changes. But it's one thing to hear about certain things. It's one thing to try them. I try to concentrate. I close my eyes and keep on reminding my plea. «Go out, therefore, rebel. Come out seductive, full of all fraud and falsehood, enemy of virtue, persecutor of the innocent. Give way to Christ, in whom there is nothing of your works (...) ».

It is at this point that an unexpected event occurs. A fact that will never be repeated during my long "career" as an exorcist. The possessed becomes a piece of wood. The legs stretched forward. The head stretched backwards. And it starts to levitate. It rises horizontally half a meter above the back of the chair. It remains there, motionless, for several minutes suspended in the air. Father Massimiliano withdraws. I stay in my place. The crucifix tightly held in the right hand. The ritual in the other. I remember the stole. I take it and let a flap touch the body of the possessed. He is still motionless. Hard. Shut up. I try to sink another blow. «(...) While you can deceive man, you cannot mock God. He chases you away, in whose eyes nothing is hidden. He expels you, to whose strength all things are subject. He excludes you, who prepared eternal fire for you and your angels. From his mouth comes a sharp sword: he who will come to judge the living and the dead, and the times by means of fire. Amen".

Finally, liberation
A thud welcomes my Amen. The possessed sags on the chair. Mumbles words that I struggle to understand. Then he says in English: "I will go out on June 21st at 15 pm. I will go out on June 21st at 15 pm". So look at me. Now his eyes are nothing but the eyes of a poor peasant. They are full of tears. I understand that it has returned to itself. I hug him. And I say to him: "It will end soon." I decide to repeat the exorcism every week. The same scene is repeated every time. The week of June 21 I leave him free. I don't want to interfere with the day Lucifer said he was going out. I know I don't have to trust myself. But sometimes the devil is unable to lie. The week following June 21, I reconvene him. He arrives as always accompanied by Father Massimiliano and the translator. It looks peaceful. I'm starting to exorcise it. No reaction. Stay calm, lucid, calm. I spray some blessed water on him. No reaction. I ask him to recite the Ave Maria with me. He recites it all without giving up. I ask him to tell me what happened the day Lucifer said he was going to leave him. He says to me: «Like every day I went to work alone in the fields. In the early afternoon I decided to go for a ride with the tractor. At 15 pm I came from screaming very loud. I think I made a terrifying scream. At the end of the scream I felt free. I can't explain it. I was free ». A similar case will never happen to me again. I will never be so lucky, to free a possessed person in so few sessions, in just five months, a miracle.

by Father Gabriele Amorth
* (written with Paolo Rodari)