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

The only one who can perform an exorcism in the Catholic Church is a priest who has received special and express permission from the local Ordinary. It is not a charism one takes up on one’s own, it is not a layman’s role, 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 “Exorcisms: Theological Reflections and Pastoral Guidelines”, of the Episcopal Pastoral Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (2019), sums up the canon as follows: no one may lawfully pronounce an exorcism over possessed persons unless the local Ordinary has granted special and explicit permission to do so, and that permission can be granted only to a presbyter endowed with piety, wisdom, prudence and integrity of life.

What the Roman ritual says exactly

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 question: “The ministry of exorcizing the possessed is conferred by special and express permission of the local Ordinary, who is normally the diocesan Bishop. This permission is to be granted only to a priest endowed with piety, knowledge, prudence and integrity of life and specifically prepared for this office.”

Two clarifications deserve attention, because they are almost always lost in popular accounts. The first is the adverb: the ritual says that the local Ordinary is “normally” the diocesan Bishop, which acknowledges the existence of other local Ordinaries in law. The second is the requirement of specific preparation, which the briefer formulation of the canon does not spell out. It is also worth noting a divergence of translation between the two Portuguese texts cited: where the edition of the ritual says “knowledge”, the document of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil says “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 resolves much confusion of vocabulary: “In this book, whenever ‘exorcist’ is said, 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 “The Good Fight: A Theological Essay on the Struggle against the Devil” (1989), opens the chapter on who holds this power with a delimitation: “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 from God alone, in particular from the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of Christ who acts in the name and with the power of the Father. And he adds that Christ communicated this power to the Apostles and to their successors, the Bishops, referring to Mt 10:1, Mk 3:15 and 6:7, 13, Lk 9:1 and 10:1. It is, Cavalcoli writes, principally a priestly power.

It is the same logic that the ritual expresses on the side of the Church at prayer: after the resurrection, “the Church acts in 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 transferred and may be given in a stable way or only for one case.

Can a layman 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 September 29, 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 some ecclesial groups, prayer meetings have been multiplying with the aim of obtaining deliverance from the influence of the demons, and although these are not exorcisms properly so called, such meetings are held under the direction of lay people, even in the presence of the priest. The Dicastery’s reply reminds the Ordinaries, point by point, of canon 1172 in its two paragraphs.

This does not mean that the ordinary Christian is unarmed. Gabriele Amorth, in An Exorcist Tells His Story (1999), draws the boundary clearly with regard to Mk 16:17: that power granted by Jesus 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”, that is, it is a general power, founded on prayer and faith, which can be exercised by individuals and by communities, 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”, that is, in this case what is spoken of are prayers of deliverance, not exorcisms. Prayer of deliverance and major exorcism are not degrees of the same thing. They are acts of a different nature, and only the second is reserved.

What the exorcist has to do before exorcizing

The permission does not authorize presumption. Number 14 of the ritual orders the exorcist, when diabolical intervention is spoken of, to proceed “with the greatest circumspection and prudence”, and the first instruction is a negative one: “let him not easily believe that someone suffering from an illness, especially a psychological one, is possessed by the devil”. The document of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil goes in the same direction and is even more practical: the exorcist may perform the exorcism only after ruling out every possibility that it is a pathology of a physical or psychological order, and in doubtful cases he may seek the advice of other exorcists of long and proven experience.

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

For the reader who has come here from a concrete case, the practical step is simple and has an order: speak with the parish priest, who knows the way to the local Ordinary. Before that, it is well to distinguish the phenomena, because not every disturbance attributed 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 special and express permission from the local Ordinary, and the ritual adds that the priest must be specifically prepared for this office. 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 in a stable way or only for one concrete case.

Can a layman 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, which does not require special authorization. The 1985 letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recalls that meetings led by lay people are not exorcisms and cannot be.

Can the exorcist act as soon as someone says he is possessed?

No. Number 14 of the ritual orders that one not easily believe that someone suffering from an illness, especially a psychological one, is possessed, and the document of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil requires that every physical or psychological pathology be ruled out first.

Is there a lay exorcist in the Catholic Church?

No. The ritual itself lays down that, in its text, whenever “exorcist” is said, “priest exorcist” is to be understood.