'The Pope’s Exorcist's Father Amorth Was A Very Real Person
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Netflix's newest hit horror movie, The Pope’s Exorcist, dropped back in April, but it is still capturing audiences months later with its freaky tale of religion, devils, and frightening supernatural scenes.
The movie tells the story of Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s leading exorcist, as he goes through a series of scary and intense exorcisms, including a drawn-out exorcism involving a possessed child living at an ancient Spanish abbey. Viewers also watch as Father Amorth uncovers a fictional Vatican conspiracy during his work, which helps weave a riveting tale that has rocketed this movie to the top of Netflix's charts.
Of course, with any new movie featuring real institutions, like the Vatican, and real practices, like exorcisms, people are curious to know if it's actually based in fact. And Father Amorth’s (played by Russell Crowe) story is deeply fascinating, so it's only natural to wonder if there’s any truth to the character's depiction. So, Women's Health is here to break down the real and fictional parts of this new movie.
Is The Pope’s Exorcist based on a true story?
Yes and no. Netflix notes in the movie’s description that it stars actor Russell Crowe “in this horror thriller inspired by real-life Vatican exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth” and his memoirs. Basically, it’s fiction inspired by fact.
The movie is based on a real exorcist.
Father Amorth: My Battle Against Satan
amazon.com
$14.96
As mentioned, the trailer specifically states that the movie is “inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth.”
Okay, but who is Gabriele Amorth? Father Amorth was an actual exorcist who wrote a book called Father Amorth: My Battle Against Satan. “Tall and balding with laughing eyes and a welcoming smile, Father Gabriele Amorth spent decades battling the Devil one-on-one, performing literally tens of thousands of exorcisms,” the Amazon description reads.
Amorth was born in Modena Italy in 1925, and became an ordained Catholic priest in 1951, per Collider. More than three decades later, Amorth became a chief exorcist for the Diocese of Rome, learning the craft from a "master exorcist." He eventually helped found (and served as president of) the International Association of Exorcists in 1990. Amorth eventually retired from his role at the association in 2000, per the outlet. During his tenure, Amorth claimed to have done over 50,000 exorcisms.
Vanity Fair followed Amorth during one exorcism, and noted that he urges many people to see a psychiatrist or doctor first. “Out of a hundred people who seek my help, one or two at the most may be possessed,” he told the magazine.
Amorth had a lot of strange ideas, including being adamantly against yoga and Harry Potter, stating that they were both evil (the latter because it convinced children to believe in black magic).
Some of the events are real, too.
The movie dives into the Spanish Inquisition, which is a very real event. However, it says that the Inquisition was driven by a master exorcist who was possessed by a demon called Asmodeus, who was trying to take down God and the Church.
The movie also references the very real disappearance of a teenaged girl named Emanuela Orlandi, who disappeared while returning from school in 1983. "The case has gripped Italy ever since and sparked conspiracy theories involving everyone from the mafia, to international terrorists to the top ranks of the Catholic Church," CNN reported.
Where is Father Amorth today?
Father Amorth is no longer alive. He died back in September of 2016 at the age of 91, pr the Catholic News Agency. The outlet said that the priest had been hospitalized "for several weeks" due to "lung complications."
"Now he rests from his many battles with the devil," Spanish theologian Father Jose Antonio Fortea told CNA.
The Amazon description of his book notes that he was “the world's most famous exorcist, a legendary, miraculous chaser of demons. To the many he served, Father was a godsend, freeing them from years of demonic oppression; to others, he was just a crank, an extremist priest who saw the Devil everywhere.”
There’s a sequel in the works.
Details are scarce, but Bloody Disgusting cites sources as saying that a sequel is in development at Sony. Only time will tell if this is truth or fiction!
The Pope's Exorcist is available to stream on Netflix now.
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