The evening shadows are creeping over the colonnades and piazzas of Rome as an elderly, white-haired priest leaves the comforts of his home and heads through the streets towards a room in an apartment block where others are waiting.
He walks slowly, carrying a small, black case filled with the essential paraphernalia of the ritual he is about to perform.
The room has been prepared to his precise instructions – cleaned, sprinkled with holy water, and stripped of moveable objects. Of those now gathered inside it, only the priest – his face drawn and solemn – has any idea of what to expect.
Or rather, who to expect.
The night ahead is likely to be long and exhausting, but time has taught the priest to recognise the natures of the demons he pursues. They may be ingenious or stupid, coarse or charming, brazen or craven. Hell, it seems, is no place for stereotypes.
“Exorcizo te,” he begins, using the Latin phrase for “I command you,” which opens the 370-year-old Catholic ritual for casting out devils. Then, as prayers are said around him, he touches the possessed’s forehead with the hem of his cassock and orders the demon to reveal itself.
It’s tempting to assume that this sort of gothic tableau belongs in history books or Hollywood horror films, but far from slipping into obsolescence, the demand for exorcism is growing rapidly in the modern world, and the Vatican is currently training hundreds of new priests to cope with it.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2023-Ausgabe von Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2023-Ausgabe von Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Spotlight on Vitamin D
Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D, but safe sun exposure is still essential.
Coming up roses
Driven by a renewed interest in the flower’s power, a rose renaissance is dawning.
'I was given a 5% chance of survival'
When Caroline Laner Breure was hit by a car in an horrific accident on a Spanish holiday with her boyfriend, her body and her dreams were shattered. Somehow she found the will to go on living.
Time to celebrate our mothers
Author Kathy Lette gives a heartfelt thank you to her magnificent mum, Val - a baker of fairy cakes with the patience of a saint.
"I am lucky to be here" ”
Since the day she walked onto the MasterChef Australia set back in 2009, Julie Goodwin has openly shared her life. But in writing a memoir, she had to examine the demons she'd battled privately... until now.
JAMIE OLIVER at your service
Returning to the set of MasterChef Australia to help steer a path through grief and spread happiness, the celebrity chef is also at a turning point - he opens up about failure, love, second chances and his endless reservoir of joie de vivre.
From one mum to another
Princess Catherine's public announcement struck a chord with mum-of-two Jane Gillard. She shares her story of parenting through cancer- and offers hope for the princess and mums navigating their own health journey while raising primary-aged kids.
The courage of Princess Catherine "You are„, not alone"
It was a rare personal address that she shouldn’t have had to make. But with conspiracy theories swirling and the slimmed-down “Firm” under fire, Princess Catherine silenced critics with searing courage and dignity.
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE
When Tracy Hall fell for Max Tavita, she fell for a mirage. Max was a false identity created by a con man, and Tracy was the latest in a long line of women whose life savings hed stolen.
Amother's GIFT
In December last year, Australia’s first uterus transplant recipient, Kirsty Bryant, gave birth to Henry, a happy, healthy baby boy. The uterus that had made this little miracle possible had been donated by her mother, Michelle. Five months later, their first Mother’s Day since Henry’s birth feels especially precious.
