Father Gregory Jordan, S.J., was appointed as exorcist to the archdiocese of Brisbane around 2001. Pope Francis’s teachings have led to increased numbers of exorcists being hired internationally. Creative commons image by Faith on Tap Brisbane
A boom in the demand for exorcisms is one of the unexpected consequences of “Pope Francis effect,” Nick Squires reports in The Telegraph (April 13). Several other newspapers have reported on that trend, intrigued by a week-long exorcism conference that took place for the tenth time at the Pontifical University Regina Apostolorum in Rome. Pope Francis often talks about the Devil and has commended the work of exorcist priests. Apparently, this has contributed to a growing interest for exorcisms, along with some films, such as The Rite (2011). According to the article, several Italian dioceses have recently increased the number of exorcists. For example, the Diocese of Milan increased from five to 12. Half of the dioceses of England and Wales did not have an exorcist until a few years ago, however, most now do.