Can women be exorcists?

Good evening Father,
I wanted to ask you: can women be exorcists?
I thank you in advance and recommend you to the Lord.

Priest’s answer

Dearly beloved, 
1. the Code of Canon Law says:
“Can. 1172 – § 1. No one can perform exorcisms legitimately upon the possessed unless he has obtained special and express permission from the local ordinary.
§ 2. The local ordinary is to give this permission only to a presbyter who has piety, knowledge, prudence, and integrity of life”.
Therefore, according to the discipline of the Church, the ministry of the exorcist is linked to the sole priest indicated by the bishop.

2. This means that the rites linked to the blessing of the exorcism can only be performed by the priest who has received the task..

3. However, demons can also be cast out in other ways, as can be seen from the life of Saint Catherine of Siena.
Blessed Raymond of Capua, her first biographer and confessor, titles chapter nine of the Saint’s life with these words: “enemy of demons”.

4. And he narrates some episodes of people possessed by the devil who were freed by Catherine.
I mention only one, that of an eight-year-old girl named Lorenza who had been taken to a monastery to receive education and instruction. It should be remembered that in those days there were no public schools like today. So those who wanted to educate their children sent them to monasteries or called a tutor into their home.

5. Well, the eight-year-old girl was possessed by the devil without her having sinned and without her parents having sinned, as Blessed Raimondo points out.

When tormented by the devil, “and this very often happened in a violent way, all the nuns were scared and disturbed”.(t/n)
The signs of possession were very clear. Blessed Raymond says that “[the evil spirit who tormented Lorenza (t/n)] spoke Latin by her mouth, although she had no idea of that tongue; he answered the most difficult questions, and manifested the sins and secrets of a great number of persons; in fine, it was evident to everyone that God permitted the devil, for a motive concealed from man, to torment this poor little innocent” (Life of Saint Catherine, n. 172).

6.To free her from the devil, they took the little girl to visit various relics of saints so that due to their merits and virtues the evil spirit was forced to flee. 

In particular they appealed to the blessed Dominican Ambrogio Sansedoni, from Siena and buried in the Dominican church. 
He was famous, as well as for his holiness and doctrine, for casting out demons. Blessed Raymond says that one hundred years after his death it was enough to touch his cape or his scapular to be freed from evil spirits.

They therefore took Lorenza to the tomb of the blessed Ambrose, but this time the desired effect was not achieved.

Or, rather, Blessed Ambrose wanted to glorify Saint Catherine from heaven while she was still alive.

7.The parents, having learned that Catherine had the strength to cast out demons, wanted to bring the child to her, but Saint Catherine said no with these words: “Alas! I am myself daily tormented by the demons: how do you imagine that I can deliver others?”.And she left looking for any excuse not to be found.
So they got around the obstacle by going to Catherine’s confessor asking him to force her out of obedience to free that girl from the devil. He himself took her to the house where Caterina lived. But the saint was absent at that moment. He left her there, commanding her to report what he had done and that by his command she should cast the devil out of the child.

8.And this is how the liberation came about: “she therefore had recourse to prayer, and forced the child to kneel and pray with her. The whole night was consumed in thus combating the enemy by a holy vigil: before daybreak, the demon, was, notwithstanding his resistance, overcome by the divine virtue, and the delivered child felt no ill ” (Ib.,n.174). 
When her parents learned that Lorenza was now freed, they went to get her. But Caterina asked to leave her with her for a few more days and took the opportunity to give her a lot of good advice.
It happened that shortly after Caterina was forced to leave the house for an errand. The devil took advantage of this to return to possess the girl. From afar, Caterina immediately sensed it and went back. When she entered the house, she found Lorenza’s face completely changed, fiery and somewhat furious. As soon as she saw her, Caterina said: “Ah! Serpent you have dared to enter anew into that innocent child; but I have faith in Jesus my Saviour and Spouse; thou shalt make thy exit, no more to return”.
Having said this, she took the girl with her to the place of prayer; she stopped there for a short time and when she came out the girl was perfectly freed. Then Caterina ordered her to be put to bed. In the morning she sent for her parents and told them: “Now you may take your child in all security; she will not be tormented in future”.
And from that day on she was no longer haunted or possessed. Once healed she returned to the monastery. At the time Blessed Raymond wrote these things, 16 years had passed (cfr.Ib., 175).

9.This narrative is important because it reveals that Catherine did not perform the exorcism rites. She prayed, she was close to the little girl. At a certain moment she also commanded the devil to leave and he left.

She didn’t use the exorcism form.
Well, we too can tell the devil to go away.

We can tell her the same way Caterina did. However, having the awareness that our holiness and our power do not compare to the holiness and power of Catherine.

I wish you all the best, I bless you and I remember you in prayer. 
Father Angelo

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