The Full Latin Exorcism Ritual
The Rituala Romanum (Roman Ritual) is essentially a guide book for Roman Catholic priests, covering all of the services that they can perform. It includes the Holy Sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing the Sick, Matrimony, Priesthood, the Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany of the Saints, Liturgy for the Faithful Departed, Blessings, Processions, Litanies and Exorcism. The book was written in 1614, and other than a few minor changes, has gone unedited.
The basic steps to an exorcism as layed out by Mtholyoke.edu are:
1. The Presence – The exorcist and his assistants become aware of an alien feeling or entity.
2. Pretense – Attempts by the evil spirit to appear and act as the victim, to be seen as one and the same person. The exorcist’s first job is to break this Pretense and find out who the demon really is. Naming the demon is the most important first step.
3. Breakpoint – The moment where the demon’s Pretense finally collapses, a scene of extreme panic and confusions accompanied by a crescendo of abuse, horrible sights, noises and smells. The demon begins to speak of the possessed victim in the third person instead of as itself.
4. The Voice – Also a sign of the Breakpoint, the Voice is inordinately disturbing and humanly distressing babel. The demon’s voices must be silenced for the exorcism to proceed.
5. The Clash – As the Voice dies out, there is a tremendous pressure, both spiritual and physical. The demon has collided with the “will of the Kingdom”. The exorcist, locked in battle with the demon, urges the entity to reveal more information about itself as the exorcist’s holy will begins to dominate. As mentioned above, there is a direct link between the entity and place, as each spirit wants a place to be. For such spirits, habitation of a living victim is preferable to Hell.
6. Expulsion – In a supreme triumph of God’s will, the spirit leaves in the name of Jesus, and the victim is reclaimed. All present feel the Presence dissipating, sometimes with receding noises or voices. The victim may remember the ordeal or may have no idea what has happened.
Below you can see all 41 pages of the exorcism text from the Rituale Romanum in Latin. And if you’re feeling super ambitious, you can download all 589 pages of the Latin text here.
