Ask the ExorcistRoman Catholic Ministry of Deliverance
You are not alone in this.
Prayer, guidance, and a path to freedom — from the Church’s ministry of deliverance.
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Please read this first
Do not attempt exorcism prayers on yourself or another person. Lay-led “deliverance” outside the Church’s structure can deepen the problem. Begin with your own pastor. Solemn exorcism is celebrated only by a priest with his bishop’s permission.
When to call your pastor
Your own parish priest is the right first call — not a stranger, not the internet. He knows your parish, he can hear your Confession, and he is the one who brings a case to the diocese if it ever needs to go there. You do not need certainty before you call. Asking is not an accusation, and no one will think less of you for it.
Call him if any of these are true
- You have kept to the ordinary means — Confession, the Eucharist, daily prayer — and the disturbance continues or worsens.
- You cannot bear sacred objects, prayer, Holy Water, or the name of Jesus.
- Things in your home frighten others, not only you.
- You suspect a family member or child is afflicted.
- You were involved in the occult — divination, séances, curses, Freemasonry, New Age practice — and something changed afterward.
- You are being pulled toward despair, self-harm, or blasphemy in a way that does not feel like your own mind.
This is usually something else
- Fear, intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and sleeplessness — these are ordinary far more often than not.
- Grief, scrupulosity, or a season of dryness in prayer.
- Symptoms that began with a medication change, illness, or exhaustion.
None of this means you are imagining things or that you should stay silent. It means a doctor and a priest are both part of the same honest answer, and the Church asks for the medical question to be settled first.
What to do when you call
Ask for an appointment, not a diagnosis
Call the parish office and ask to speak with the priest privately. You are asking for pastoral help — that is a normal request, and it is what the office is there for.
Write it down first
Dates, what happened, who else witnessed it, what you have already tried, and any occult involvement in your life or your family’s past. Plain facts, no interpretation. It keeps the conversation calm and it helps him more than anything else you can bring.
Bring your medical picture
Current diagnoses, medications, recent changes, and your doctor’s name. A good priest will ask. Offering it first shows him you are serious.
Go to Confession
Whatever else is true, this is where the ground is retaken. Make it a full and honest Confession, and renounce anything occult by name.
Expect patience, and keep praying
He may want time, or a second conversation, or a referral to the diocese. That is the Church working carefully, not dismissing you. Keep to the Daily Armor and the sacraments while you wait.
If your priest is unavailable or unsure how to help, ask the parish for the next nearest priest, or contact your diocesan chancery and ask who handles requests of this kind. Do not go to a lay “deliverance minister” outside the Church’s structure.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call emergency services first. Nothing on this page comes before that.
Daily Armor
Three prayers to know by heart
The Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Pray it slowly. Mean it. It is the seal of your baptism.
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Prayer to Your Guardian Angel
Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
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Ephesians 6:12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.