Table Of ContentAN EXORCIST: MORE STORIES
FATHER GABRIELE AMORTH
AN EXORCIST:
MORE STORIES
Translated by Nicoletta V. MacKenzie
IGNATIUS PRESS SAN FRANCISCO
Title of the Italian original:
Nuovi racconti di un esorcista
© 2000 Centro Editoriale Dehoniano, Bologna (9th edition)
© 1992 Edizioni Dehoniane (1st edition)
English language edition made possible
through the mediation of Agenzia Letteraria Eulama
Cover art: Healing of the Possessed (detail)
Limbourg Brothers (15th c.)
Tre Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
Ms. 65/1284, fol.166r. French, early 15th c. Musée Condé, Chantilly, France
© Giraudon / Art Resource, New York
Cover design by Roxanne Mei Lum
© 2002 Ignatius Press, San Francisco
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-0-89870-917-9 (PB)
ISBN 978-1-68149-670-2 (E)
Library of Congress control number 2001094785
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
Introduction
In Memory of Father Candido Amantini
Wanted: Exorcist
EXAMPLES
Letter to my bishop
The opinion of a famous French theologian
Slowing down advancing imposters
Christ against Satan
EXAMPLE
Who is Satan? Who are demons?
“In My Name They Will Cast Out Demons”
EXAMPLES
Only an exorcist could help me
I found the right way
Satan in Action
EXAMPLES
Paul VI speaks about Satan
Nefarious influence of certain music
How to Recognize the Presence of Evil
EXAMPLES
A well-organized religious community
I am a psychiatric nurse
Exorcisms and Prayers of Liberation
EXAMPLES
Some examples of liberation
A bishop promotes prayers of liberation
Some Causes of Evil Presence and Their Consequences
EXAMPLES
An evil journey
The prayers of the Pentecostals
An unresolved issue
Difficulties and Ongoing Problems
EXAMPLES
Team exorcism
Stillness and silence: Angelo Battisti
A strange visit
Infestations
Infested Objects
Charismatics and Sensitives
Infested Animals
EXAMPLES
First the psychic, then the exorcist
From infestation to possession
Questions and Answers
Exorcists and Magicians
Doctrinal Questions
Miscellaneous Questions and Particular Symptoms
Let’s Talk about Satan
Means of Liberation
Conclusion
Prayers of Liberation from the Spirit of Evil
Notes
INTRODUCTION
My previous book, Un esorcista racconta (1990; English: An Exorcist Tells His
Story, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1999), was successful beyond my most
optimistic expectations, generating more interest than what I thought was
warranted. I can explain this phenomenon only by referring to Proverbs 15:23,
“Sermo opportunus est optimus”, that is: the best sermon is the one delivered at
the right time. I believed there was an immediate need to discuss the topic of
exorcism, and I felt an urgency to write about it. I cannot deny that I am gratified
not only by the rapid diffusion of the book, but also by the many things that
happened after its publication.
In view of the great response to the topic among both clergy and laity, I
decided that I would provide a service to everyone by following up with a
second book. When I was planning the format of An Exorcist: More Stories, I
intended to limit the book to a series of examples with commentary. Then I
realized that I needed to expand some topics that I had barely mentioned in my
first book so as not to make it too heavy. This second volume is still based on
my personal experience under the direction of Father Candido Amantini, but it
also includes the experience of other exorcists and their suggestions; I want to
thank them, and other Catholic faithful, for their contribution to my work.
As far as the format of the book is concerned, I believe that concrete examples
are fundamental for understanding the subject matter that I will discuss.
Therefore, I begin each chapter with one particular topic and conclude the
chapter with an example—among the many—that best illustrates my point.
These examples were all chosen from recent occurrences; in fact, some are still
unresolved. I reported the unabridged facts, but I changed the names and
significant details to protect the identity of the victims and anyone else involved.
I thank the Lord for this second book; I hope that it is as successful as the last
one, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
IN MEMORY OF
FATHER CANDIDO AMANTINI
I cannot write this book without pausing to remember my teacher, Father
Candido Amantini, whom the Lord called home on September 22, 1992. It was
the feast of Saint Candido, Father Amantini’s patron saint. To his brother priests
who had come to wish him well, he simply answered: “Today, I asked Saint
Candido for a gift.” Since he was in great physical pain, we all guessed his
request, and he received his gift.
Father Candido was born in 1914 at Bagnolo of Saint Flora (Grosseto). In
addition to his vast education—he had taught Sacred Scripture and moral
theology—he was endowed with holiness and wisdom, and he had a well-
balanced spirituality. For these reasons, he was in great demand as confessor and
as spiritual director. Padre Pio said of him: “Father Candido is a priest after
God’s heart.”
However, he is best known because of his activity as exorcist for the diocese
of Rome—a position he held for thirty-six years. People flocked to him from all
over Italy and the entire world; he would see up to seventy or eighty individuals
every morning. He was invariably patient, always smiling, and his advice often
turned out to be inspired.
He had a great love for the Blessed Virgin, which he expressed in his book Il
Mistero di Maria.1 In the end, it was prayer (he would also pray all night) and
his ministry that completely absorbed his life, so much so that he had no time to
write. In 1990, I began to feel that his health was failing, and I was afraid that
the wealth of his experience as an exorcist—experience that he had tried to teach
me with so much patience—would be lost. That is why I rushed to write Un
Esorcista Racconta (English: An Exorcist Tells His Story) and begged Edizioni
Dehoniane to print it as quickly as possible: I was afraid that Father Candido
would not be able to read and correct it.
Instead, he flew to his reward on the eve of the publication [in Italy, 1992] of
this second book, An Exorcist: More Stories, to which he had also contributed. I
am grateful to him, and I ask for his intercession from heaven.
G. A.
Description:Following up his international best-selling book,An Exorcist Tells His Story, Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the renowned chief exorcist of Rome, expands on some of the key topics of his previous book, covering important details about demonic or occult issues. He uses concrete examples from his own experience
