A Reflection from “The Most Powerful Saints in Exorcism” by Charles D. Fraune and Patrick O’Hearn

In his book True Devotion to Mary, St. Louis de Montfort shared a prophesy that in our present time, God would raise up “great saints who shall surpass most of the other saints in sanctity as much as the cedars of Lebanon outgrow the little shrubs.” These modern-day saints have proven to be extraordinarily powerful in exorcisms, as many exorcists report that several modern-day saints—those who lived in the last two centuries—are wreaking havoc on the powers of Hell and unfettering the shackles of demonic oppression and possession.

Fr. Vincent Lampert validated this point:

I think exorcists will tell you that some of the most important saints to call upon are those that we see within our own era. In the ministry of exorcism, when we invoke Mother Teresa, St. John Paul II, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and, even many exorcists tell me, the power of our new St. Carlo Acutis—if Christ is being rejected, which is ultimately what Satan has done, then invoking these saints allows them to be the light that shines in the darkness.

Fr. Pius explained that more and more modern-day saints are showing up in exorcisms because “they are very present in the current mentality of the Church and of Catholics. So I think that people tend to know of them and probably have some kind of a devotion to them if they’re Catholic.”

The devil has been trying to extinguish Catholicism for over two thousand years, but the light of Christ can never be put out so long as pious souls allow the Holy Spirit to kindle the fire of God’s love in them. Or in the words of Christ Himself: “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49). These saints set the world on fire with the love of God, driving the demons back to Hell.

St. Bartolo Longo (1841–1926)

St. Bartolo Longo was once a child of darkness. Though he was born into a devout Catholic family on February 10, 1841, after his mother died when he was ten years old, and having been pushed away from the Faith by several college professors who were ex-priests, he started to visit Naples’ notorious mediums. Eventually, he was sucked into the occult, and he drifted so far from the bark of St. Peter that he gave his soul to a demon and became a Satanic priest, preaching vehemently against the Church. During this time, he became very ill and psychologically unstable.

But Bartolo’s family kept praying. He even heard his devout father from Heaven saying, “Return to God! Return to God!” A devout Catholic professor named Vincenzo Pepe introduced Bartolo to a Dominican priest, and Bartolo soon reverted to the Faith. Still, Bartolo wrestled with major questions, and the devil was not about to let him go without a fight. He wrote:

I recalled my former condition as a priest of Satan . . . I thought that perhaps as the priesthood of Christ is for eternity, so also the priesthood of Satan is for eternity. So despite my repentance, I thought: I am still consecrated to Satan, and I am still his slave and property as he awaits me in Hell. As I pondered over my condition, I experienced a deep sense of despair and almost committed suicide. Then I heard an echo in my ear of the voice of Friar Alberto repeating the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “One who propagates my Rosary shall be saved.” Falling to my knees, I exclaimed: “If your words are true that he who propagates your Rosary will be saved, I shall reach salvation, because I shall not leave this earth without propagating your Rosary.”

St. Bartolo then spent his life throwing out a lifeline—the Rosary—to others who might have otherwise become Satan’s property. He died on October 5, 1926, in Pompeii.

When asked if St. Bartolo shows up in exorcism, Fr. Alphonsus stated:

Yes, I have heard about him showing up to different exorcists. For me, one summer I was helping with a pilgrimage, and we ended up going to visit his remains. I was chosen, somehow, from among a great number of priests, randomly to be the one to celebrate Mass on the altar over his body. I’d never really heard of him at that time. It was only later that one of my friends, who’s an exorcist, said, “Oh, yeah, he shows up quite a bit.” So I thought, oh my goodness—well, this is probably because there is a connection between St. Bartolo and my ministry, because it just seems like a number of possessed people, and people heavily oppressed, end up in my life without a natural explanation. I am then able to help them with spiritual direction and, ultimately, deliverance. So that’s a really cool connection that I didn’t even understand when I offered Mass at the altar over his body.

Other exorcists such as Fr. Athanasius invoke St. Bartolo Longo frequently and promote his cultus, but they report that so far, they have only gotten “minimal reactions in the screamometer.” Still, we can rest assured that this saintly man, who knew the devil well during life, is now a powerful and keen ally from Heaven.

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