This is a subject that fascinates many people. It is also a subject that most people truly don’t understand. An exorcism is a religious ritual that is performed by the Roman Catholic Church when someone is believed to be possessed by a demon. There is no other Christian denomination that performs this ritual. It is exclusively a Catholic ritual. The exorcism ritual can be a very long and grueling one for all that are involved. An exorcism can last anywhere from a few hours, days, months, even years. To my knowledge the Roman Catholic Church has only confirmed five exorcisms in the United States.

Before an exorcism can be performed a Catholic priest or representative from the Catholic Church will be sent to investigate the claims of activity and or possession. It must be understood though that the priest or representative will always go in to the case as a skeptic. This is for the simple fact that most cases are just people looking for attention. Once the investigation has been completed the Catholic Church will be notified with the findings, and action will then be taken if necessary. This will usually be decided by a bishop or archbishop from that locations diocese. Once the decision has been made an exorcist will either be sent in or he won’t.

The Catholic Church will usually have a priest in every diocese that has studied and can perform the exorcism if necessary. That doesn’t mean however that this is the only job of that particular priest, nor does the priest carry that title. It simply means that he has studied and can perform the ritual if he is ever called upon to do so.

Otherwise, he will have the same duties and responsibilities that all other priests have. Before the exorcism ritual can begin it is the exorcist’s duty to prepare him self, pick his assistants, and decide where and when the ritual will be performed. In order to prepare him self properly the priest will usually fast and pray for a period of time, often one or two weeks. When it is time to pick the assistants they will either be family and or friends of the possessed person.

The assistant’s primary responsibility is to keep the possessed person restrained, and or to keep him/her that way at all times. When they are not performing this particular duty they are saying and or repeating psalms and prayers at the command of the exorcist. If it’s possible, one of the assistants will usually have a medical background of some kind so as to monitor the vital signs of the possessed person throughout the ritual.

If it is believed that the exorcism is causing harm or endangering the possessed person too much then the exorcism will come to an immediate end. The location of the ritual itself will be conducted in the home of the possessed person (most likely the bedroom), and is done during the day. After the assistants, location, and time has been chosen for the ritual the location (room) itself must be prepared. This includes removing any and all furniture (except the bed), pictures, curtains, curtain rods, carpet, carpet padding, miscellaneous items, everything. This is to ensure that no one is hurt or attacked with anything that was in the room.

Upon completing the room preparations the possessed person will then be secured to the bed in a safe and comfortable manner. This is done with rope and cloth, not chains or handcuffs like some people believe.

While this is being done the exorcist will begin setting up everything he needs. This will include an audio recorder, candles, holy water, blessed crucifix, and the Roman Catholic Ritual of Exorcism. As soon as everyone is in their assigned places and understands their roles, the exorcist will then open with prayer and the ritual will begin. The ritual itself has several different parts. They consist of prayers, reading psalms, scripture, and various commands.