In an Italian-language book published in April 2023, “Esorcisti contro Satana” (“Exorcists against Satan”), journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona revealed how St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis have confronted the devil throughout their pontificates, promoting the ministry of exorcism or even practicing it.
“Father Gabriele Amorth already decried that in the Church, in the 1980s, there were many bishops who did not believe in exorcisms or in the devil. John Paul II, but also Benedict XVI and Francis, supported this deliverance ministry through their speeches against the action of the evil one,” Marchese explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
In his homilies, Pope Francis has repeatedly mentioned that “the devil enters through the pockets” in reference to the power of corruption.
Speaking with ACI Prensa, Marchese recalled his meeting with the pontiff in preparation for his book on exorcism. “Never dialogue with the devil, because he will win,” the Holy Father warned him.
“He makes you believe that everything is good, that you will be successful, and then he traps you, you fall into the abyss and then it’s difficult to get up again,” the expert recalled the pope saying.
Marchese, a Vatican journalist with Mediaset (Italian television) with more than 10 years of experience, wrote the book full of stories of victims of possession and testimonies of exorcists who fight against the devil, including a previously unpublished interview with Pope Francis in which he describes how the devil always “tries to attack everyone and sows discord, also in the Church, trying to pit one against another.”
Pope Francis, attacked by the devil
The pope admits in this interview that he too has been attacked by the devil, Marchese said. “The devil attacks everyone, but above all those in the hierarchy of the Church. He tempted Jesus and he also does the same with the popes and bishops.”
Indeed, in the first chapter of the book, Marchese tells the story of a nun who was freed from diabolic possession and who, during the exorcisms, with a demonic voice, indicated that the devil hated Pope Francis: “Have you seen everything I put that Argentine through?” the devil said to the priest. “But he doesn’t go away, he is strong, too much for me.”
“I asked the pope,” Marchese recalled, “did you know that the devil says that about you? And he answered me: ‘Perhaps because I annoy him with prayer and I follow the Gospel.’ At the same time, he is certainly pleased when I commit some sin. He seeks the downfall of man, but he has no hope when prayer is present.”
In some dioceses in northern Europe there are no exorcists despite the warnings of recent popes, Marchese noted in the interview with ACI Prensa. “Yes, unfortunately it’s like that, and I have to agree with Father Gabriele Amorth (1925–2016), who was a great exorcist.”
Some popes have performed remote exorcisms
Although some popes have performed remote exorcisms, such as Pius XII and St. John Paul II, there is no evidence that other contemporary pontiffs have done so. Even in times when the devil has manifested himself, such as when Benedict XVI blessed three demoniac youths from a distance after a general audience in 2009, popes have not carried out exorcisms.
St. John XXIII never performed exorcisms and neither did St. Paul VI, who in 1972 commented how “the smoke of Satan had entered through some crack” into the Church. Nor has Pope Francis performed an exorcism, as confirmed in the interview with Marchese, since he prefers that specialized priests do it.
His approach is focused on preventing and combating evil temptations through faith and prayer. The pontiff has not only openly preached against the devil, he also recognized the International Association of Exorcists in June 2014, Marchese noted.
In 2019, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) published the book “Rebuking the Devil,” which compiles Pope Francis’ most important teachings on the prince of lies, “his empty promises and works, and how he can be actively combated.”
“The pope tells us how to use powerful spiritual weapons against the devil, including the word of God and the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,” wrote Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, at the presentation of the book.
