Know about Gabriele Amorth, real-life exorcist who inspired horror flick
What's the story
Renowned Italian Catholic priest and exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, Gabriele Amorth had performed thousands of exorcisms throughout his life. He also founded the International Association of Exorcists with five other priests. As Sony Pictures releases The Pope's Exorcist today based on the life of Amorth and his iconic exorcisms, we take a sneak peek into his life as an exorcist.
Demonic possession
He came across an evil incarnate in 1997
Amorth is well-known for helping people who were troubled by demonic possessions. In 1997, he faced an evil incarnate when a young Italian man arrived at his consulting room in Rome accompanied by his priest and a translator. The Father was informed that the spirit inside the man could speak proper English, unlike the man who only knew Italian.
Exorcism
The man started cursing Father Amorth during an exorcism
Amorth started exorcism in Latin. The man looking at him fiercely cursed him in English as soon as the Father took the name of Jesus Christ. Threatening in English he started spitting at Amorth, ready to attack him. However, the evil became quiet when the Father started saying the prayer Praecipio tibi (I command you).
Demon
The demon said that his name was Lucifer
Following this, the demon became furious and spat at him. Amorth demanded the demon reveal his name while continuing the rite of liberation. The demon said that he was Lucifer and started twisting his head back while shrieking. After a lot of struggle, Satan surrendered and declared the exact day and hour during which he would leave the man's body.
Exorcisms
Amorth claimed to have performed 1,60,000 exorcisms
Born in Modena, Italy on May 1 in 1925, Amorth was interested in priesthood since the age of 10. He claimed to have performed 1,60,000 exorcisms over the course of his ministry until he passed away in 2016, aged 91. Father Marcello Stanzione wrote a book about Amorth titled The Devil Is Afraid Of Me that included the horrific demonic encounter of 1997.
Process of exorcism
Amorth claimed that his exorcisms would last for 30 minutes
Speaking about his exorcism process to Stanzione, Amorth claimed that his exorcisms usually last for about 30 minutes on average. He would often conduct five exorcisms in the morning with breaks in between for paperwork by appointment only. According to him, exorcisms could range from simple prayer to an extreme way of eliminating demons from the body. It's not a one-time process, he said.
Service under the Pope
The devil resides in the Vatican: Amorth
Amorth was appointed a Vatican exorcist in 1986, when Pope John Paul II was the head of the Catholic Church. When ABC News asked him in 2010, if Satan tried to attack Vatican City, Amorth mentioned the 1981 incident when Turkish convict Mehmet Ali Ağca fled captivity and shot at the Pope. He also confessed during the interview, "The devil resides in the Vatican."