The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist

by Matt Baglio

  Chris described how, at odd times of the day and for no apparent reason, Stephanie would suddenly be overcome by what he called “attacks” on her mind (which sounded to Father Gary like mood swings). According to Chris, she would become enraged beyond any rational thought. One such “attack” had left her walking on the side of the road while Chris sat dumbfounded in the car. It wasn't until Chris brought it to her attention that she became aware of what she was doing.

  Thinking that the problem might be spiritual in nature, Chris tried a spontaneous deliverance prayer over her and something amazing happened. During the prayer Stephanie felt “hot spots” on various parts of her body—either her forehead or stomach or the back of her neck—and simultaneously felt that entities were leaving her. Chris also confirmed that while praying he'd felt warm balls of energy releasing from her.

  Perplexed, Father Gary dug deeper, asking a little about Stephanie's past, specifically if she had any involvement in the occult, and if there was any particular event that had prompted this problem.

  The problem had begun the previous March, when an older woman she knew approached her at their church and gave her a hug. This innocuous act, however, suddenly turned into something very bizarre as she heard the woman's voice change into a gruff, demonic-like growl. The episode triggered an unpleasant memory of being abused by her father as a child, during which he also spoke in the same gruff, demonic voice. In addition, there was some strange relationship with a minister from her church, whom she described as being obsessed with her (she'd stopped attending her church because of it).

  At that point she'd gone to see Father Kevin who sent her to an internist, who gave her a clean bill of health. She then went to see a clinical psychologist, an agnostic. He told her that she seemed fine and that maybe her problem was “spiritual” in nature.

  After this she returned to Father Kevin, who recommended she see a Catholic therapist. That didn't work out because Stephanie had refused to be interviewed without Chris being present, something the psychiatrist wasn't comfortable doing.

  In the meantime they'd searched for other priests who might be willing to help them but had been turned away each time. One priest even said, “I hope it's not something I can catch.” Sensing that they were desperate and unsure where to go, someone in the vicar's office at the diocesan chancery ultimately directed them to Father Gary.

  Father Gary could see that Stephanie was clearly distressed. It upset him to think of the flippant remarks made by priests who turned her away in such a callous manner.

  He told her that he'd recently been trained as an exorcist in Rome but that he'd yet to actually perform an exorcism himself. But, he said, “I am willing to meet with you.” He cautioned them, however, not to expect quick results. “We're going to have to start addressing this from the bottom up, and it may take some time.”

  Stephanie was noticeably relieved. Here at last was an exorcist, and an officially appointed one at that, who was willing to help. “Thank you,” she said.

  Contacting his bishop, Father Gary relayed the details of the story. The bishop told him not to proceed with anything until Stephanie got a full psychiatric evaluation.

  Without his team in place, Father Gary scrambled to locate a person who might assist him. Thinking back to his days at Saint Nicholas, he contacted a female clinical psychologist whom he knew to be very devout, but she felt the case was out of her league. He got in touch with another female clinician who seemed more willing to help. Father Gary then met with her for two hours, and after asking about her perspective on concepts such as demons and Satan, he was satisfied that she was equipped to give a competent analysis.

  At first the couple balked at having to see another doctor. But when Father Gary told them, “If you are even going to contemplate this as a possibility, you have to do it,” they relented.

  In the interim, Father Gary prayed a simple blessing over Stephanie and anointed her with the sacrament of the sick. She showed no reaction during the blessing but claimed to feel better afterward.

  After evaluating her the following week, the psychologist could find nothing clinically wrong.

  In the meantime, Father Gary consulted with an American exorcist on the East Coast who was associated with the upcoming exorcism conference in August to ask his advice. The exorcist told Father Gary that he had seen symptoms such as Stephanie's many times.

  Armed with this information, Father Gary went back to his bishop, who gave him the go-ahead for the exorcism, reminding him to have the couple sign a release form beforehand (an American prerequisite). Father Gary called Stephanie and told her the news. The exorcism was scheduled for the following Saturday.

  During the week, Father Gary was too busy with the details of the parish to spend much time on the exorcism. He did take the parish coordinator and his secretary aside and fill them in about his appointment. Now that the cat was technically out of the bag, it was likely that more and more people would be calling (or showing up unannounced), so it would be better if his staff knew. In addition, at Father Kevin's suggestion, he downloaded the 1952 version of the Roman Ritual for exorcism off the Internet. Since his Latin was a little rusty, it would be much easier to pray this version because he was allowed to do it in English.

  The morning of the exorcism he was anxious. While he had witnessed nearly eighty exorcisms, this would be the first one he'd be performing. Chris would be present and assisting him if he needed a hand.

  He decided to conduct the exorcism in one of the unused offices. The room was tasteful and small, without a lot of furniture that might get in the way. Rather than skip straight through to the exorcism prayers as Father Carmine had, he resolved to pray the entire Ritual from start to finish. He didn't want to leave anything to chance.

  He began the Ritual, reciting the litany of the saints in Latin and then moved on to the Gospel reading in English, followed by a brief homily. After the homily, he had both Stephanie and Chris renew their baptismal vows; “Do you renounce Satan? And all his works?…” Once that was finished, he began the exorcism prayers, using a wooden crucifix that had been hanging on the wall in his office and touching it to the back of her neck as he did so. “I cast you out, unclean spirit, along with every Satanic power of the enemy, every spectre from hell and all your fell companions…” As he prayed, he tried to keep one eye on the page and the other on Stephanie, who sat placidly on the couch, showing no sign of reaction. After the first prayer, he shifted the crucifix, placing it on the top of her head, and began the second prayer. When he was ready to move on to the third prayer, he placed it on her forehead. After he'd finished, he offered them both communion.

  The whole exorcism had lasted about an hour, and as far as Father Gary was concerned, the woman had shown no outward reactions to the prayers.

  “So what did you feel?” he asked her.

  “I felt this heat on my head, but then it went away,” she said. “At one point I felt this thing kind of pull out of my stomach and leave.”

  Afterward he sat in his office and went over the details. The exorcism had turned out to be pretty uneventful. Was there something he'd overlooked? Or was Stephanie faking? Was she perhaps trying to get Chris's attention? His experiences in Rome had taught him to be circumspect; but since this was his first exorcism, he couldn't be sure. As he analyzed it, he remembered that it was possible for demons to hide—maybe that's what had happened. He knew that exorcism wasn't an exact science and that he would become more competent with experience. Beyond that, he wondered anew how Father Carmine had the stamina to see so many people. Just this one exorcism had tired him out, and there were days when Father Carmine had seen twelve people. No wonder he had skipped to the heart of the Ritual.

  He saw Stephanie and Chris a few more times over the following months, and each time her reaction was the same—she sat perfectly still and afterward described having a burning sensation where he'd touched her with the cross and then the feeling of entities leaving her. He began t
o wonder why, if a demon was present, he hadn't manifested yet.

  In August he flew out to the exorcism conference being held in the Midwest, hoping to get some practical tips about Stephanie's case, as well as to network with other exorcists. At Father Gary's instigation, Father Vince also attended the conference. Father Vince had seen a few people already, though he hadn't prayed the Ritual over anybody yet. He had met one woman he believed might be possessed but she'd failed to return after he instructed her to attend mass and confession in conjunction with any formal help he'd provide. She basically huffed out, telling him that if he wouldn't help her right then and there, she'd go somewhere else. He discovered later that she'd gone to a local prayer group that told her that she could be freed only when she had devoted herself to prayer and her rosary beads turned the color of gold.

  The conference was run by a group of Charismatic laypeople who sometimes assisted American exorcists in their ministry.

  The day started with prayer before breakfast at 7:30, followed by morning lectures until 11:15, then daily mass and lunch. The afternoon consisted of classes from 3:00 to 5:00 followed by an early dinner; then, at 7:00, there was an hour of questions, after which everyone gathered to pray over one another.

  On the whole, Father Gary found the conference to be extremely helpful, especially since it allowed him the opportunity to meet other American exorcists with whom he could compare notes. He found the talk on the sacrament of reconciliation and the spirituality of mercy and the Eucharist as a weapon against evil influences to be very useful. It also jibed with what he'd learned back in Rome— a fundamental job of an exorcist is to bring people back to the sacraments. However, while he was pleased by the direction of the conference, he also felt uncomfortable with some of the people in attendance who tended to see the Devil in every crack and crevasse of life.

  Father Vince had a similar impression. As regards to the attendees praying prayers of deliverance over one another, he objected to the notion that it was necessary, explaining that since he thought demonic possession was uncommon he didn't think it required that everyone be delivered of evil spirits. It also turned him off that some of the participants seemed too eager to become exorcists. One priest boasted that he exorcised his rectory at least once a month, including his telephone, because he was concerned that people on the other end of the line might be possessed. Father Vince found this to be a clear example of the American tendency to gravitate toward the extreme.

  Overall, Father Gary appreciated the conference and its efforts to train exorcists as had the course in Rome. He thought the organizers might have gotten more interest if they had held it at a Catholic site (it would be the following year) so that more bishops would attend. More than anything, he envisioned a course sanctioned by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, which would help legitimize the rite of exorcism, something that he felt was desperately needed.

  AFTER HE RETURNED FROM THE CONFERENCE, Father Gary prayed over Stephanie again while Chris was present. Wondering if they were getting anywhere, he asked if she really wanted these spirits to leave. When she answered yes, he reminded her that she was going to have to become more proactive and start praying every day. “You can't just rely on me to do all this for you.”

  As the sessions progressed, however, Chris and Stephanie became more exasperated. Why weren't these prayers “curing” Stephanie the way Chris's numerous books described? While she did report some improvement, Father Gary's exorcisms didn't seem any more effective than what she had experienced when Chris prayed over her.

  Feeling that her improvement wasn't happening fast enough, the couple decided to try another exorcist. Father Gary gave them the name of an exorcist in a nearby diocese and wished them well. He still wondered if he had missed something, or hadn't done it right. He still questioned whether the prayers of the Ritual would work for him. Despite the fact that Stephanie said she felt better, it was hard to gauge. Even in the milder cases that Father Carmine saw, Father Gary detected at least some external reaction to the prayer.

  When the couple returned a month later saying that they weren't happy with the other exorcist either, Father Gary knew there was more to the story. It wasn't just him. In fact, he was beginning to feel ambivalent about their case. Knowing from his experiences with Father Carmine that people can get addicted to exorcism, as if it were a kind of “identity” he told them he'd be willing to see them again but they would have to shift gears and slow down. Disappointed, the couple had no choice but to agree.

  OVER THE COURSE OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR, Father Gary saw more people, some from as far away as Oregon. A woman in her fifties said that demons were around her all the time; a Filipino man thought that his brother-in-law had put a curse on him; and another man claimed to be haunted by the ghost of a dead relative. A few times he needed Father Kevin to translate for Spanish-speaking victims, and on one occasion another priest helped out when he saw an older woman who spoke only Vietnamese.

  In a few of these cases he prayed the Ritual, but in the vast majority he simply prayed prayers of deliverance or offered a blessing if he suspected the cause was not demonic. Sometimes, when people wouldn't take no for an answer, he prayed a simple blessing over them while cautioning them to seek help through therapy.

  Father Gary would also bless houses. One family in San Jose claimed to have witnessed various odd phenomena, including a ghostly apparition that would sometimes appear at the foot of the children's bed and a room that always seemed to be filled with an icy chill. Despite blessing every room in the house, Father Gary failed to uncover any curses or infestations that would explain the activities.

  The fact that so many people were seeking him out came as a big surprise. Even after witnessing so many exorcisms in Rome, he still thought his services would rarely be called upon in America. And because he had been so busy, there'd been little opportunity to carry out some of the ideas he'd formulated in Rome. For instance, he had yet to meet with the youth ministers in the parish and talk to them about the dangers of the occult. However, he had been able to open up a little chapel off the parish offices for daily Eucharistic adoration.

  In January 2007, Father Gary e-mailed Father Carmine to let him know how things had been progressing since his return from Rome, mentioning some of the cases he'd seen and his hope that the ministry of exorcism would soon be seen in a more credible light. Having forgotten most of his Italian, he wrote the message in English.

  A few weeks later, Father Carmine responded to his e-mail in Italian, delighted to have heard from his former protege. He was even happier that Father Gary had written in English, saying that it would give him a much-needed opportunity to practice his language skills, a favor he hoped to reciprocate by responding in Italian.

  In closing his e-mail, Father Gary had asked the Capuchin how things were in Rome. Was he still seeing lots of people? Father Carmine had responded by saying that the situation was as bad as ever. In some cases, he was getting people sent to him from other countries in Europe. One woman had sought him out from Germany, where there were no exorcists, he said. “You know how tragic the situation is as far as that goes. I believe that we have to pray a lot for the theologians and bishops that they teach a doctrine that is truly and completely Catholic instead of one which is easier and more accommodating. All of humanity suffers because of a doctrine that is incomplete and unbalanced. But we put our faith in the hands of the Madonna. I praise God that there is a priest like you who can help a lot of poor and suffering people. Be simple and strong! And pray for me, because I need it… We will remain united in our prayers.”

  SEVERAL MONTHS after receiving Father Carmine's e-mail, Father Kevin got in touch with Father Gary about a case he thought he should investigate. The parents of a young Central American woman, Maria, who lived in a nearby diocese, had reached out to him, hoping that their daughter could receive an exorcism. A week later, Father Gary found time during a busy afternoon to sit down with the three.

  The su
llen and downtrodden appearance of Maria, a twenty-seven-year-old originally from Honduras, immediately alerted him that something might be amiss. The defeated look the parents gave him reminded him of what he'd seen in people accompanying victims whom Father Carmine had prayed over in Rome.

  As in the past, he started by asking Maria to tell him her story.

  Ever since the age of seventeen, she said, she had been hearing voices and seeing demons, which would always tell her, “You belong to us.” Worried, her parents had taken her to see a witch doctor while they were living in Honduras. When he'd performed a ritualistic exorcism, Maria had entered into a trance and flopped around on the ground. After that, the problem seemed to abate for a time. However, recently it had come back again.

  Father Gary continued to probe, noting that Maria had no history of drug abuse; and as far as he could surmise, she appeared sane. According to her parents, the witch doctor had told them that the troubles were most likely related to a curse.

  Intrigued, Father Gary told the three that while he was willing to help, the best course of action would be for Maria to get a psychiatric evaluation. In the meantime, however, he told them he would be happy to pray a simple blessing over her. (Remembering his training, he also suspected such a blessing might help unmask a demon if there was one.)

  Without much fanfare, Father Gary picked up a three-ringed binder that contained some prayers that he had photocopied from various books and downloaded from the Internet. The prayers he liked most were printed in the back of Father Amorth's book, An Exorcist Tells His Story. Selecting one of these (originally from the Greek Ritual), he extended his hand toward Maria, intoning: “Kyrie eleison, God, our Lord, King of ages, All-powerful and All-mighty, you who made everything and who transform everything simply by your will. You who in Babylon changed into dew the flames of the ‘seven-times hotter’ furnace and protected and saved the three holy children. You are the doctor and the physician of our soul. You are the salvation of those who turn to you.”