The story of Father Gabriele Amorth is so shocking, that director Julius Avery decided to bring it to the cinema with The Pope’s Exorcist’ a film you won’t want the night to fall for. The film starring Russell Crowe reflects the life of the Italian priest who, with his expertise, became the Vatican’s chief exorcist.
During his career, the priest performed more than 100,000 exorcisms, of which there are official records as proof of his profession. Although there are many horror stories out there, there are few that really shock you, and this one, which premiered on April 5, is quite promising.
Who Was Gabriele Amorth
Motivated by his faith, Gabriele Amorth, who was born in Modena, in 1925, was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1954; however, it took 30 years to become an exorcist. The first one he performed was under the tutelage of Father Candido Amantini, and by the year 2000, he had performed more than 50,000. He kept a record of each one and wrote publications about it, especially about the most shocking or complicated cases. By September 2016, the date he died, Gabriele exceeded 100,000 exorcisms.
Father Gabriele Amorth Before the ‘Call of God’
From a young age, he knew that his thing was to dedicate himself to God, but before that, he was advised to try a little bit of everything before doing so, as he was 17 years old and could easily change his mind.
Gabriele fought against the fascists after being called up by the Italian army during WWII. He then studied law and worked in the Christian Democratic Party with Giulio Andreotti, who later became the prime minister of this country. Despite the recommendations made to him, Amorth was convinced that he wanted to become a priest, and in 1951 he took his vows to officially join the Church.
In 1986 he began assisting Candido Amantini, who at the time was the Vatican’s chief exorcist, in exorcisms. With his death in 1992, Gabriele took over his position.
The Exorcisms of Gabriele Amorth
During 30 years of his career, Gabriele Amorth was always a professional and never practiced an exorcism without being sure that it was a possession and not a mental illness. In 1990 he founded the International Association of Exorcists, of which he was president for 10 years, and published two books in which he described his experiences as a chief exorcist of the Vatican: An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories.
For the rituals, he used crucifixes, oils, holy water, a prayer book, and a purple stole that he usually placed over the possessed person. “Me, afraid of Satan? It is he who should be afraid of me. I work in the name of the Lord of the world. And he is only God’s monkey,” he wrote in one of his books.
Story written in Spanish by Nayeli Párraga in Cultura Colectiva
