Of Exorcisms and Certain Supplications

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Of Exorcisms and Certain Supplications (Latin: De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus Quibusdam) is an 84-page document of the Roman Catholic church describing the rite of exorcism. It was revised on 26 January 1998, making it the last liturgical book to be revised following the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965. The preceding revision of the document was in 1614.^[1] The document was originally issued only in Latin, but some versions in the vernacular are extant.

The text of the older English version read, in part:

Depart, then, transgressor. Depart, seducer, full of lies and cunning, foe of virtue, persecutor of the innocent. Give place, abominable creature, give way, you monster, give way to Christ, in whom you found none of your works. For he has already stripped you of your powers and laid waste your kingdom, bound you prisoner and plundered your weapons. He has cast you forth into the outer darkness, where everlasting ruin awaits you and your abettors.^[1]

Following the trends in Catholic approaches to alleged cases of possession since the pontificate of Leo XIII in the nineteenth century, the new revision includes a warning not to confuse mental illness with demonic possession. It also removes a couple of descriptions of Satan, which sat uncomfortably with church doctrine, and states that the devil is "a spirit without body, without colour and without odour."

Of Exorcisms and Certain Supplications is used for solemn exorcisms, which are always performed with the express permission of a bishop. It is performed by a priest in a formal ceremony. There are several different forms of ritual that may be used for minor exorcisms, including the Prayer against Satan and the Rebellious Angels of Leo XIII.