Who can perform an exorcism in the Catholic Church? The rule of canon 1172 and of the ritual

Who can perform an exorcism in the Catholic Church is only a priest who has received the particular and express permission of the local Ordinary. It is not a charism one takes up on one’s own, it is not a lay function, and being a priest is not enough. Without that permission, no major exorcism is licit.

The rule is in canon 1172 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law and is repeated, almost word for word, in the ritual now in force. The document «Exorcismos: reflexões teológicas e orientações pastorais», from the Episcopal Pastoral Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (2019), summarises the canon this way: no one may lawfully pronounce an exorcism over the possessed unless the local Ordinary has granted particular and explicit permission, and that permission may be granted only to a presbyter endowed with piety, wisdom, prudence and integrity of life.

What the Roman ritual actually says

The reference text is the Rituale Romanum: De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus Quibusdam, in the Portuguese edition «Celebração dos Exorcismos» (2003). Number 13, which opens the section on the minister, is the heart of the matter: «O ministério de exorcizar os possessos é atribuído por licença peculiar e expressa do Ordinário do lugar, que normalmente é o Bispo diocesano. Esta licença deve ser concedida somente a um sacerdote dotado de piedade, ciência, prudência e integridade de vida e especificamente preparado para esta função.» In literal translation: the ministry of exorcising the possessed is assigned by particular and express permission of the local Ordinary, who is normally the diocesan Bishop, and this permission is to be granted only to a priest endowed with piety, knowledge, prudence and integrity of life, and specifically prepared for this function.

Two details deserve attention, because they are almost always lost in popular accounts. The first is the adverb: the ritual says the local Ordinary is «normally» the diocesan Bishop, which acknowledges that other local Ordinaries exist in law. The second is the requirement of specific preparation, which the shorter wording of the canon does not spell out. It is also worth noting a divergence of translation between the two Portuguese texts cited here: where the edition of the ritual says «ciência», knowledge, the document of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil says «sabedoria», wisdom. The same Latin requirement is rendered in two ways, and neither of them means academic erudition.

The same number 13 closes with a definition that settles a great deal of confusion about vocabulary: «Neste livro, quando se diz “exorcista” deve entender-se sempre o “sacerdote exorcista”.» That is: in this book, whenever the word exorcist is used, the priest exorcist is always to be understood. In the language of the ritual, therefore, there is no lay exorcist.

Where does the power to cast out demons come from?

The canonical question rests on a prior theological one. Giovanni Cavalcoli, in «A boa batalha: ensaio teológico sobre a luta contra o demônio» (1989), opens his chapter on who holds this power with a boundary: «Il potere di cacciare i demoni viene soltanto da Dio, in particolare dallo Spirito Santo, in quanto Spirito di Cristo che agisce nel nome e con la potenza del Padre», that is, the power to cast out demons comes only from God, in particular from the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of Christ who acts in the name and with the power of the Father. He adds that Christ communicated this power to the Apostles and to their successors, the Bishops, citing Matthew 10,1, Mark 3,15 and 6,7.13, Luke 9,1 and 10,1. It is, Cavalcoli writes, principally a priestly power.

The ritual expresses the same logic from the side of the praying Church: after the resurrection, «a Igreja actua no exorcismo, não em seu próprio nome, mas unicamente em nome de Deus ou Cristo Senhor, a quem todas as coisas, inclusive o diabo e os demónios, devem obedecer», that is, the Church acts in the exorcism not in her own name but solely in the name of God or of Christ the Lord, whom all things, including the devil and the demons, must obey. The bishop’s permission does not create a power. It regulates the public exercise of a power that belongs to Christ and that the Church administers in his name. That is why the permission is personal, is not transferable, and may be given on a stable basis or for a single case.

Can a layperson perform an exorcism?

No, and the Holy See had to say so in writing. Cavalcoli reproduces the letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of 29 September 1985, published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, which arose from a concrete problem: «Da alcuni anni, in alcuni gruppi ecclesiali, si stanno moltiplicando riunioni di preghiera aventi lo scopo di ottenere la liberazione dall’influsso dei demoni, anche se non si tratta di esorcismi propriamente detti, tali riunioni si svolgono sotto la guida di laici, anche alla presenza del sacerdote». In literal translation: for some years now, in certain ecclesial groups, prayer meetings have been multiplying whose purpose is to obtain deliverance from the influence of demons, even though these are not exorcisms properly so called, and such meetings are held under the direction of laypeople, even in the presence of a priest. The Dicastery’s reply reminds the Ordinaries, point by point, of canon 1172 in its two paragraphs.

This does not leave the ordinary Christian unarmed. Gabriele Amorth, in An Exorcist Tells His Story (1999), draws the line clearly with regard to Mark 16,17. The power Jesus granted to all who believe «is a general power, based on prayer and faith. It can be exercised by individuals and by communities. It is always available and does not require special authorization». But Amorth immediately imposes the distinction: «we must make it clear that in this case we are talking about prayers of deliverance, not of exorcisms». Prayer of deliverance and major exorcism are not two degrees of the same thing. They are acts of a different nature, and only the second is reserved.

What the exorcist must do before exorcising

Permission does not authorise presumption. Number 14 of the ritual orders that the exorcist, when diabolical intervention is alleged, proceed «com a maior circunspecção e prudência», with the greatest circumspection and prudence, and the first instruction is a negative one: «não creia facilmente que seja possesso do demónio alguém que sofra de alguma doença, especialmente psíquica», he is not to believe easily that someone suffering from an illness, especially a psychic one, is possessed by the devil. The document of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil moves in the same direction and is even more operational: the exorcist may proceed only after ruling out every possibility of a physical or psychic pathology, and in doubtful cases he may seek the counsel of other exorcists of long and proven experience.

The same text adds a sentence that corrects the popular image of the office at its root: the exorcist is not someone who lives to cast out demons, since his mission is to proclaim the Gospel, to catechise and, whenever necessary, to lay hands on the sick or pray for the possessed. Whoever separates exorcism from the ordinary ministry of the Word and the sacraments has already left what the Church means by an exorcist.

For the reader who has come here because of a concrete case, the practical step is simple and has an order: speak to the parish priest, who knows the way to the local Ordinary. Before that it helps to distinguish the phenomena, because not every disturbance ascribed to the devil is possession. On that distinction, see the difference between demonic possession and obsession. The sources cited in this article are available in full at canon 1172 of the Code of Canon Law, De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus Quibusdam and Inde ab aliquot annis, of 1985.

Frequently asked questions

Can any priest perform an exorcism?

No. Canon 1172 requires the particular and express permission of the local Ordinary, and the ritual adds that the priest must be specifically prepared for this function. A priest without that permission cannot celebrate the major exorcism.

Who grants the exorcist’s permission?

The local Ordinary, who according to number 13 of the ritual is normally the diocesan Bishop. The permission may be given on a stable basis or only for a particular case.

May a layperson pray for someone’s deliverance?

Yes, but that is a prayer of deliverance, not an exorcism. Gabriele Amorth explains that it is a general power founded on prayer and faith, requiring no special authorisation. The 1985 letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recalls that meetings led by laypeople are not exorcisms.

Can the exorcist act as soon as someone claims to be possessed?

No. Number 14 of the ritual orders him not to believe easily that a person suffering from an illness, especially a psychic one, is possessed, and the document of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil requires ruling out every physical or psychic pathology first.

Is there such a thing as a lay exorcist in the Catholic Church?

No. The ritual itself lays down that in its text the word exorcist always means the priest exorcist.