ST. MICHAEL CENTER

MSGR. ROSSETTI'S BLOG

[Msgr. Rossetti and Gina praying at McGivney's Tomb] In New Haven, CT at St. Mary's Church, Blessed Fr. Michael McGivney is buried. Some SMC team members were blessed to pray at his tomb. SMC strongly supports his devotion and the organization that he founded: The Knights of Columbus. Fr. McGivney founded the Knights for several reasons including helping families with deceased members and providing spiritual support to Catholic men and their families as an alternative to

["Spiritual Warfare on the Earth," Computer generated. Blessed by priest.] I cannot think of any who have a greater hatred of the Catholic faith (Odium Fidei) than Satan and his demons. Every exorcist experiences the pure hatred of demons for the Church, priests, and all things Catholic such as holy water, relics of saints, the crucifix, the Eucharist, the BVM and more. The presence of this pure overwhelming hatred in a session is one strong sign that demons are truly pre

[Computer generated. Blessed by priest.] It was immediately after lunch. We began the exorcism session as usual. After only a few moments, I was so overcome with lethargy I could hardly continue. I thought I must have eaten too much lunch! But the lethargy was much too intense for that. As the session continued, I was fighting to move forward with the prayers. It then occurred to me, "Ahh, it's demonic!" So, I repeatedly commanded the Demons of Lethargy to leave. I

[Satan Bound, Pieter Mortier, 1700] I woke up this week with some unexplained scratches on my right shoulder- too far apart to be an animal and I don't have a cat. "Ahh," it dawned on me, "it's demonic." Mine are very similar to the demonic scratches that one of our team members received about a month ago. These scratches are usually in three's, a mockery of the Holy Trinity. They are about 6-12" in length, although I have seen longer. They don't hurt and the person d

I recently returned from an exciting conference in Brazil: Misercordia Brasil 2026 . There were 16k people in the arena in Fortaleza (tickets sold out in one hour) and 80k online. It was a dynamic, spirit-filled event. The Hesed Institute, which runs this event, is a flourishing young community of sisters, brothers and priests. They have over 200 members and are growing rapidly. They are a contemplative community and yet they have an online YOUTUBE following of over 5

[" Resurrection ", Annibale Carracci, 1593] [This is a reprinting of Exorcist Diary #340 . It is a reflection worth revisiting in the wake of Easter. Can we "prove" that Jesus rose from the dead? The experiences of an exorcist are perhaps some of the strongest "proofs" that He truly resurrected.] In the midst of the exorcism session I said, "By the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus, I command the demons to leave!" The out-front demon yelled back: "We won! We

[" Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter ," Pietro Perugino, 1481-1482] We had just finished an exorcism session and the afflicted person looked at me and said, “The demons have a message for you." He then said: “Ask Joey how Francis is.” He had no idea what it meant. I thought about it for a moment and then figured it out. It was demonic evil genius. In five words they tried to diss me, control me, frighten me, and then, their major goal, to turn me against

[Mary Crushing The Serpent" from " Immaculate Conception ," detail, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1767-1768] Typically the first words out of demons' mouths are: "She/he belongs to me!" An exorcism is essentially a battle for ownership. Demons claim the person. The new Rite of Exorcism, which is very effective, is based upon the Sacrament of Baptism. The person is "reclaimed" for Christ. In baptism, the Priest says: "I claim you for Christ our Savior." In an exorcism, t

["Demon Deceiving a Soul", computer generated and blessed by a priest] I was recently contacted by a priest who asked for assistance. We chatted and I thought his experience was instructive for us all. With his permission, here it is: As a priest I was fascinated, curious and a bit envious of those with special spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues, a word of knowledge, prophecy, or, for some priests, the gifts of healing. Many of my close priest friends had these gif

["Safe in the Barque of Peter," digitally generated and blessed by priest] A priest-exorcist contacted me about a difficult case. It started out like a typical situation and they were making good progress. But then things started to shift. Instead of the demons and their antics getting weaker, they were actually getting stronger. For example, for the first year or so, he barely needed to be restrained in an exorcism session. But around year three, he became increasingly

[St. Joseph casting out the demons. Digitally generated & blessed by priest.] The Feast of St. Joseph is March 19th. He is a greatly under-appreciated spiritual figure. He is rightly called: "Terror of Demons." As St. Alphonsus Liguori said: "Saint Joseph is most powerful against demons which fight against us." I was reminded of this in an exorcism some time ago: A young woman who was afflicted by demons was being ministered to by our St Michael Center for Spiritual Ren

[ " Jesus casts out the devils " , Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Die Bibel in Bildern , Plate 191.] I hesitate to wade into this intense, conflictual arena, but there is something that has been gnawing at me for quite a while. As a priest-exorcist and as a licensed psychologist, I have been looking at the phenomenon, especially in the United States, of the "lone wolf terrorist." These are the ones who are not formally part of a terrorist group, but rather commit acts of t

[" Light of the World ," William Holman Hunt, 1851-1854; Jesus is knocking on our door and asks to be let in. The door is overgrown and has not been opened in a long time. ] Recently I was told of a couple that had left the Faith and went full speed into pagan religions. They traveled to non-Christian religious sites in Asia, practiced TM and yoga, and embraced their teachings and spiritual practices. As they were doing this, their friends noticed they slowly became more

[" St. Francis Borgia Helping a Dying Impenitent ," Francisco Goya, 1788] I was recently asked by a reporter if I thought that AI could replace an exorcist. At first, I thought it was a crazy question, but deeper reflection is warranted. A few days ago I was told by an airline pilot that autopilots already land planes better than humans. He thought AI could replace pilots. He added: "Take away pilot error and accidents would be extremely rare." Similarly, an MD radiolog

[" Grace ," photograph by Eric Enstrom] Theologians tell us that Satan and his demons fell due to pride and envy-- God would become a man and not an angel. Thus, humans will have something that the angels would not. Despite being dazzlingly beautiful and powerful, Satan wanted more. As perhaps the highest of angels, he felt entitled. And legions of demons followed him. I was in an exorcism and demanding the demons to leave. After the person renewed baptismal promises a

[ St. Michael the Archangel , Master of Castelsardo, 15th-16th century] Hell Hounds are thought to be mythological creatures from the underworld who serve the devil. They are often depicted as fierce, muscular, black dogs with sharp teeth and red eyes. But actually such "mythological" creatures do exist and have attacked great saints. " On the very morning of her [St. Gemma Galgani] death, the devil appeared once again , this time in the form of a black, ferocious dog."

[Pope John Paul II meets with his attempted assassin in prison.] I continue to be stunned by the unrelenting rage of evil. Satan and his minions are consumed by a violent rage against God and anyone who follows Him. They hate everyone and even their fellow demons. They will spend their eternity spewing forth rage and desiring to control and destroy. They are beyond hope and conversion. Recently a possessed person, who had made blood pact with Satan, told me about her c

[see " Last Supper ," San Marco fresco, Italy; Ghirlandaio ] After only a few days, our recently published video: “Pray With Me: Demons of Lethargy” topped 125k views. The rapid and overwhelming response suggests that it hit a long-hidden nerve. A lot of people are suffering from lethargy and have not found any effective medical/psychological treatment. It should be quickly noted that whenever serious symptoms of lethargy surface, professional medical and/or psychological

[ The Raising of Lazarus , Rembrandt. c. 1630-1632] I have written in the past about cases of a spirit of lethargy which were not successfully treated by medical science but lifted in response to prayer. There does seem to be an evil spirit of lethargy which can afflict people, especially those who are doing something the demons want to stop, including an exorcism. For example, in the midst of an exorcism, the Exorcist and/or the afflicted person may become overwhelmed wi

[ Pentecost with the BVM , photo by author; San Agostino, Lucca Italy; Oblates of the Holy Spirit] A converted Satanist said she was given the task, before her conversion, of cursing everyone in a local Catholic Church. So she cast her spells and curses over the entire congregation. But she noticed something that surprised her. Her spells were effective over the "casual" Catholics, i.e., those who were rather lukewarm in their faith. But with fervent Catholics, they were