The exorcism with the rosary of Saint Dominic de Guzmán

Saint Dominic de Guzmán (†1221) and the exorcism at Carcassonne: the episode of the rosary recounted by Grignion de Montfort (†1716)

Saint Dominic de Guzmán

Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (d. 1716) recounts this episode in the life of Saint Dominic de Guzmán (d. 1221). The Rosary as an exegesis of the scriptures through Mary. 

While he was preaching the Rosary in the vicinity of Carcassonne, Saint Dominic was presented with an Albigensian possessed by demons. The Saint, before a crowd of more than twelve thousand people, commanded the demons to say which among all the Saints in Heaven they feared most and who deserved the most love and honor from men. At this question the infernal spirits raised loud cries. Seeing the Saint’s insistence and not wishing to answer, they began to weep and to complain, hoping that he would take pity on them, but he, unmoved, did not give up. Then they answered that they would give the answer, but in secret, in his ear and not in front of everyone. Saint Dominic stood firm and ordered them to speak aloud. All his insistence, however, was useless, and the demons shut themselves in silence. Then the Saint knelt down and prayed to Our Lady:

“O powerful Virgin, Mary, by virtue of your Rosary, command these enemies of the human race to answer my question”.

Immediately, after this invocation, a burning flame came out of the ears, nostrils, and mouth of that possessed man. Those present trembled with fear, but no one was harmed. They again begged the Saint not to torment them. Then he, still on his knees, prayed again to the Holy Virgin:

“O most worthy Mother of Wisdom, I beg you for the people here present who have already learned to recite the angelic salutation correctly (the prayer of the Ave Maria), compel these enemies of yours to proclaim in public the full and clear truth about the Rosary”.

After the prayer, he saw the Virgin Mary at his side, surrounded by a multitude of angels, who with a golden rod struck the devil and said: “Answer my servant Dominic according to his request”. No one heard or saw Our Lady except Saint Dominic. At this command the demons began to cry out: 

O our enemy, our ruin, and our confusion! Why do you come down from heaven with the purpose of making us suffer so much? O advocate of sinners, who draw them out of hell, or onto the surest path to heaven, are we really obliged, although we do not want to, to tell the whole truth? Must we really confess in front of everyone what will shame us and cause our downfall? Woe to us! It is an eternal curse upon our principles of darkness! 

Well then, listen, you Christians: this Mother of Christ is all-powerful and can keep her servants from falling into hell. It is she who, like a sun, dispels the darkness of our intrigues and schemes. It is she who thwarts our afflictions, undoes our traps, and makes all our temptations useless and ineffective. 

We are obliged to confess to you that none of those who persevere in her service is damned with us. Only one of the sighs that she offers to the Most Holy Trinity is worth more than all the prayers, vows, and desires of the saints. We fear her more than all the blessed together, and we can do nothing against her faithful servants.

In fact, it happens that many Christians who according to the ordinary laws would be damned, by invoking her at the point of death, manage to be saved through her intercession. Ah, if this little Mary, so they called her out of rage, had not opposed our plans and our efforts, we would already have overthrown and destroyed the Church and made all her hierarchies, her members of every order and degree, fall into error and unfaithfulness! We also proclaim, forced by the violence to which we have grown accustomed, that none of those who persevere in the recitation of the Rosary is damned, because she obtains sincere contrition for their sins from her faithful servants and they receive pardon and indulgence.

Once this confession had been obtained, Saint Dominic had those present pray the Rosary, slowly and with devotion. And here is the astonishing thing! At each Ave Maria prayed by the Saint and by the people, a multitude of demons in the form of burning coals came out of the body of that man. When the wretched man was completely free, the Holy Virgin, always invisible, blessed the people and all felt a perceptible and very lively joy. This miracle was a cause of conversion for many Albigensian heretics, who even came to join the confraternity of the Rosary.

To explore more deeply the reflection on the Rosary as Mary’s spiritual weapon, consult the apostolic exhortation Marialis Cultus of Paul VI, which reaffirms the Rosary as an evangelical prayer and a privileged instrument of Marian devotion.

Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian apparitions and the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.

Learn to pray the Rosary in our guide: How to Pray the Rosary, step by step.