Exorcists discuss cases, emphasize essential role of sacred music and the Virgin Mary in exorcisms

About 120 exorcist priests met in Italy for a five-day conference on possession cases and on the place of sacred music and the Virgin Mary in exorcisms.

The 15th Italian National Conference of the International Association of Exorcists (IAE) took place Sept. 21–25 at the Fraterna Domus center in Sacrofano, Italy, near Rome. The meeting focused on the pastoral experience of attendees.

3 cases of demonic possession

Father Benigno Palilla, an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Palermo, Italy, described a young woman who was freed after two and a half years of demonic possession, according to IAE’s website. The association said her suffering is common among younger people and is often tied to ceasing reception of the sacraments, atheism, spiritist sessions, and occult practices. Her troubles had led to aggression toward others and self-hatred that reached suicidal thoughts, the association noted. Palilla said her liberation came on the liturgical memorial of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. He said that after she gave her life fully to God, she felt a deep interior peace and a renewed love of life.

Father Angelo Barra, an exorcist of the Diocese of Salerno, Italy, spoke of a young woman who was a victim of domestic violence. After a trip, she began to complain of severe pain that started during Mass. The association said that a priest’s simple reading of passages from Acts 16 revealed an extraordinary demonic action and set off an “interior earthquake.” Blessings, together with the spiritual support of two Catholic communities in Africa, led to her liberation. She later said she had been the victim of a ritual consecration by a sect in the place she had visited.

Father Michele Tenzon, a former exorcist of the Diocese of Ventimiglia-Sanremo, recalled a South American woman whose relatives had “offered her to the spirits.” He said in that case, and in an exorcist’s life generally, what matters is living an authentic Christian life, ongoing formation, and the intercession of the Virgin Mary in prayer.

Sacred music and the Virgin Mary

Father Giuseppe Grassi, an exorcist and director of the Office of Sacred Music of the Archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostuni, Italy, said sacred music and song are closely tied to the heights of the angelic ministry and can be used fruitfully in exorcism, according to the association. The more sacred the music, he said, the more closely it is connected to the liturgical action, because it prefigures the liturgy of the heavenly Jerusalem — from the psalms to Gregorian chant and popular songs in honor of the Virgin.

Mariologist Father Salvatore Perrella, a Servite and former dean of the Pontifical Marianum in Rome, stressed the importance of the Virgin Mary’s place in exorcisms. He pointed to her constant rooting in the word of God, “since Mary is intimately involved in the heart of the mystery of the Incarnation.” Mary, he said, “lived and served with fidelity, intelligence, and sobriety the role of collaborator with the Trinity in the salvation and eschatological glorification of the ‘scattered children of God.’” She is “essential in the life of the Church, interceding and praying for good to triumph over evil,” according to the association.

10 years since Father Amorth’s death

Several exorcists remembered Father Gabriele Amorth, the well-known exorcist of the Diocese of Rome and founder of the association, who died on Sept. 16, 2016, and who is credited with tens of thousands of exorcisms.

Father Francesco Bamonte, vice president of the association, recalled Amorth’s early work with the Servant of God Father Candido Amantini, exorcist at the Scala Santa. Amorth, he said, “understood that for a novice exorcist, simply being appointed by the bishop and receiving the ritual was not enough. It was like being an inexperienced surgeon. Hence the need for the conferences, courses, and regular training sessions promoted by the association.”

Father Aldo Buonaiuto, an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, recalled Amorth’s warnings about choices that expose a person to extraordinary demonic action: dangerous occult situations, fascination with the supernatural, personal ambition, an interior predisposition, and the devaluing of affections.

Father Marcello Lanza of the Diocese of Acerra, Italy, highlighted “the mystical component in the life, vocation, and teachings of Father Amorth, understood as a process of conformity to Christ. This is of great importance in the practice of exorcism, because if the ministry is mystically united to the Liberator, who is Christ, the devil is defeated all the more.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.