“Appreciation for the priests who dedicate themselves to the delicate and ever necessary ministry of the exorcist, encouraging them to live it as both a ministry of liberation and of consolation, accompanying the faithful genuinely possessed by the Evil One through prayer and the invocation of Christ’s effective presence, so that through the sacramental of exorcism the Lord may grant victory over Satan.” With these words, Pope Leo XIV opened, with a message of good wishes and the Apostolic Blessing, the 15th International Conference of the International Association of Exorcists (IAE), held from 15 to 20 September in Sacrofano, at the “Fraterna Domus” Spirituality House. Around 300 priests—exorcists and their assistants—from all continents took part in the gathering. Mgr Karel Orlita, President of the IAE and exorcist of the Diocese of Brno in the Czech Republic, highlighted “the beauty of ecclesial communion in which the ministry of the exorcist is rooted, firmly grounded in the Gospel” and recalled the official approval of the new Statute of the IAE on 25 March 2025 by the Dicastery for the Clergy as “a sign of confirmation and encouragement for the mission of the Association, which has recently surpassed one thousand members.”
Global presence
The IAE is currently active in 58 countries. In just over ten years, it has quadrupled its membership. Italy counts 340 members, while large groups are also reported in Brazil (46), Mexico (48), and the United States (63). In Europe, noteworthy numbers include the United Kingdom (35), France (23), and Spain (32). In the Czech Republic, the President’s home country, there are 14 members, and a Korean group has recently been added. The Association has a central secretariat and language-specific secretariats coordinated by priest-exorcists (Italian, Spanish, French, German, Czech, Portuguese, Korean), and organises training and refresher courses in Italy and abroad, as well as an annual gathering in Rome also for assistants.
(Foto AIE/SIR)
Insights and presentations
The days of the conference were marked by Eucharistic celebrations—presided over by Cardinal Arthur Roche, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Mgr Andrés Gabriel Ferrada Moreira—and by in-depth presentations. Mgr Aurelio García Macías, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, presented the Rite of Exorcisms, experienced “with an awareness of the centrality of Christ, for in the rite it is He who is the Church, and the exorcism is an ancient liturgical celebration ‘in persona Christi’.” Fr John Szada, psychologist and psychotherapist, emphasised the importance of discernment that unites faith with scientific criteria, “also employing modern diagnostic methods.” Mgr Rubens Miraglia Zani warned:
against the so-called ‘wandering souls’, a ‘demonic illusion making use of ghostly manifestations whose purpose is to hinder proper discernment concerning the extraordinary action of the devil’.
Fr Jean-Baptiste Vian analysed aspects of voodoo, culminating “in magical practices, adorcism, submission, and consecration to spirits—that is, to demons—even involving minors and children.” Fr Benigno Palilla addressed “the theme of dialogue between science and faith in exorcism”, while in his homily Cardinal Parolin recalled that “to serve in the Church is to receive a gift that must be guarded and renewed in humility.” The afternoon sessions also saw the participation of Mgr Renato Tarantelli, Auxiliary Bishop and Vicegerent of the Diocese of Rome, who expressed his interest in the ministry and conveyed greetings from Cardinal Baldo Reina, Vicar of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome.
(Foto AIE/SIR)
Warnings and conclusions
In the concluding addresses, Fr Francesco Bamonte, Vice-President of the IAE and moderator of the conference, warned of the pastoral risks of relying on parapsychology: “By giving credence to the ungrounded claims of parapsychology, it has happened that several priests have left many serious situations unresolved, abandoning in suffering those who needed the intervention of the exorcist.” Fr Andrés Esteban López Ruiz examined the New Age, “a syncretic spiritual movement proposing a belief system in which man and the cosmos are understood within a holistic and relativistic vision.” Fr Mauro Billetta stressed the usefulness of differential diagnosis in distinguishing between pathologies and demonic obsession. Criminologist Beatrice Ugolini explained how:
artificial intelligence fosters “the emergence of new magical-operational tools, the development of unprecedented divinatory techniques thanks to algorithms that allow for the collection of personal data, and even new forms of necromancy and communication with the dead.”
In the concluding celebration, Mgr Ferrada Moreira expressed the Dicastery for the Clergy’s gratitude towards the IAE “for the service rendered daily in fraternal sharing for the benefit of those afflicted by the Evil One.” Nine years after the death of Fr Gabriele Amorth, founder and first President of the IAE, the conference confirmed the relevance of a ministry that the Church considers necessary to support the faithful tormented by the Evil One.
