Pope Leo XIII – *Exorcism Against Satan and the Rebel Angels* (1890): full text of AAS vol. 23

## The Exorcism of Satan and Apostate Angels**By Order of Pope Leo XIII (1890)**In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.**Psalm 76:1** Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; and let them that hate him flee before his face. As smoke vanishes, so shall they vanish; as wax melts before fire, so shall sinners perish from the presence of God.**Psalm 34:15-16** Judge me, O Lord, and defend me; strike down those who oppress me. Let them be turned back and put to shame who seek my soul. Let them turn in retreat, and let them be confounded who plot against me. Let their ways be made slippery, and let the angel of the Lord pursue them…Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.**Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel**“Most glorious Prince of Heaven’s Host, Saint Michael Archangel, defend us in this battle and struggle against the powers that are opposed to us—against the rulers of this world, the princes of darkness, the spiritual forces of evil, in the heavenly battle (Ephesians 6). Come to the aid of humanity, which God created indestructible, and formed it after his image and likeness, and redeemed it at a great price from the tyranny of the devil (Wisdom 2:1; 1 Corinthians 6).”“Today fight alongside the blessed host of angels in the Lord’s battle, as you once did against Lucifer, the leader of pride, and his apostate angels. No longer was there any place for them in heaven. The great serpent, that ancient enemy and murderer, called Satan or Devil, who deceives all the world, and tempts people with corrupt minds and evil hearts, has been cast down to earth along with his angels.”“He has risen again as an ancient enemy and murderer. Transformed into an angel of light, he roams the earth with a vast host of unclean spirits, seeking to erase God’s name from the hearts of men, to steal their souls destined for eternal glory, and to destroy them in perpetual damnation.”“He pours the poison of his wickedness into perverted minds, corrupts hearts, breathes the spirit of lies, fosters impiety and blasphemy, spreads a deadly plague of lust, and incites all kinds of sins and iniquities.**English Translation:**

The Church, the immaculate bride of Christ, has been surrounded by hostile forces, who have filled her with bitterness, intoxicated her with poison, and despoiled her of all that is desirable. Where the throne of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, is established on the Chair of Truth, there the hosts of abomination have set up their throne of impiety, intending to scatter the flock like a shepherd without his sheep.

Therefore, invincible Leader, stand with God’s people against the spiritual ravages that threaten us. Win victory for them. The Church venerates you as her guardian and patron; she glorifies you as defender against the nefarious powers of earth and hell. The Lord has entrusted to you the souls of the redeemed, so that they may be lodged in supreme happiness.

Let us pray to God for peace, that He might bind Satan under our feet, and no longer permit him to hold captive men from the Church. Offer our prayers before the Most High, that He might quickly anticipate our supplications with the mercy of the Lord, and seize the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and cast him bound into the abyss, so that he may no longer deceive nations (Apocalypse 20).

Prayer

“Prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle and in strife against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual wickedness spread abroad (Ephesians 6:12). Come to the aid of men, created immortal by God and formed in His image and likeness, whom He redeemed at such a high price from the tyranny of Satan (Proverbs 2; 1 Corinthians 6).”

“Fight today with the army of the blessed Angels against the battles of the Lord, as you once fought against the prideful prince, Lucifer, and his apostate angels. They did not prevail, nor was there found a place for them in heaven. But the great dragon, the ancient serpent, called Satan or the Devil, who deceives the whole world, was cast down to earth, and his angels were cast out with him (Apocalypse 12).”

“Behold, the ancient enemy and murderer has risen furiously. Disguised as a light angel, he roams widely with all the host of wicked spirits, invading the earth to quench there the name of God and Christ, to steal, wound, and lose in eternal torment souls destined for the crown of eternal glory…”

Exorcism, Imperative Formula

Latin: “We exorcize you, every unclean spirit, every Satanic power, every incursion of the infernal adversary, every legion, every congregation, and diabolical sect, in the name and by the virtue of our Lord Jesus Christ, to uproot and drive away from God’s Church, the souls created in His image and redeemed with the precious blood of the Divine Lamb +.”

«Therefore, we exorcise you, all unclean spirits, all demonic powers, all attacks of the infernal adversary, every legion, every congregation and sect of Satan, in the name and by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ: depart and flee from the Church of God, from souls created in His image and redeemed by the precious blood of the divine Lamb +.Do not dare any longer, most cunning serpent, to deceive the human race, to persecute the Church of God, and sift like wheat the chosen ones of God +. Commanded to you is the Most High God +, whom in your great pride you still presume to be like, who wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1Tm 2).Commanded to you is God the Father +, commanded to you is God the Son +, commanded to you is God the Holy Spirit +. Commanded to you is the majesty of Christ, the eternal Word of God, made flesh, who by His death for our salvation humbled Himself even to the point of death (Ph 2), who built His Church on the firm rock and declared that the gates of hell shall never prevail against it, with which He will remain every day until the end of the ages (Mt 28:20).Commanded to you is the sacrament of the Cross +, and the virtue of all the Mysteries of Christian faith +. Commanded to you is the most excellent Mother of God, the Virgin Mary +, who by her humility crushed from the first moment of Her immaculate conception Your most proud head. Commanded to you is the faith of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of the other Apostles +. Commanded to you is the blood of the Martyrs, and the pious intercession of all the Saints and Santas +.»Thus, accursed serpent and every legion of Satan, we adjure you through the Living God +, through the True God +, through the Holy God +, through God who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3): cease to deceive human creatures and to offer the venom of eternal damnation; stop harming the Church and hindering its freedom.»

Go away, Satan, inventor and master of all deceit, enemy of human salvation. Leave Christ’s place, where you found nothing of your works; leave the Church’s unique place, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, which Christ himself acquired with his blood. Subdue under God’s powerful hand, tremble and flee, invoked by us in the holy and terrible name of Jesus, whom the infernal regions tremble before, to whom the Virtues of Heaven, Powers, and Dominions are subject, who the Cherubim and Seraphim praise incessantly, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of hosts.

Critical Analysis of Primary Source

This text was extracted by Locus Mariologicus directly from the original PDF of Acta Sanctae Sedis vol. 23, preserved in the Academic Mariology Libri (Google Drive). It is the full autograph text prior to subsequent adaptations of the Rituale Romanum.

Liturgical Heritage

This exorcism by Pope Leo XIII (1890) was included in:

• Rituale Romanum 1925 (Appendix, Ch. XII)
• Tridentine edition maintained until 1964
• Replaced in 1999 by De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus Quibusdam
• Restricted to public use only by priests with explicit permission from the bishop since the CDF Inde ab aliquot annis (1985)

Further Reading

Leo XIII, Prayer to St. Michael and Exorcism (summary) | St. Michael the Archangel | Ritual of Exorcism 1999 | CDF Inde ab aliquot annis 1985

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