Pope Leo to Exorcists: Your Ministry is “Delicate” yet “Most Necessary”

Vatican, 24 Sept, 2025: In a message to the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) meeting held near Rome, Pope Leo XIV encouraged participants to support the faithful affected by evil through prayers of liberation and consolation.

On Tuesday, the Pope addressed exorcist priests attending the 15th AIE gathering, held from 15 to 20 September at the Fraterna Domus Spirituality Centre in Sacrofano, near Rome. Around 300 priests and exorcist assistants from across all continents attended the meeting.

Victory over Evil

Pope Leo XIV reminded participants that the ministry of the exorcist is “delicate” yet “most necessary.” He urged priests “to live it both as a ministry of liberation and of consolation, accompanying the faithful truly possessed by the evil one with prayer and the invocation of Christ’s effective presence, so that (...) the Lord may grant victory over Satan.”

The conference featured moments of reflection and listening, emphasising the exorcism ministry as “a concrete sign of the Church’s love for brothers and sisters who suffer,” according to AIE president Father Karel Orlita, canon lawyer and exorcist of the Diocese of Brno.

During the Holy Mass at Sacrofano, Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, highlighted the importance of accompanying those afflicted by the devil, noting that through their suffering, they share in Christ’s own suffering.

Courtesy: Vatican News