History of Exorcism in Catholic Christianity

Francis Young is Volumes Editor for the Catholic Record Society. He is the author of several books, including English Catholics and the Supernatural, 1553–1829 (2013) and The Gages of Hengrave and Suffolk Catholicism (2015).

“A history of exorcism in Catholic Christianity is a valuable contribution to Catholic theological and liturgical history. Because it includes relatively few exorcism narratives, it has less to contribute to the social history of religion. Also, the narratives that do appear do little to capture the drama of these exorcisms, which were theatrical productions in every sense of the word.” (Brian P. Levack, Journal of Ecclesiastical History , Vol. 70 (1), January, 2019)

• 1.Introduction.- 2.Exorcism in the Early Christian West, 300–900.- 3.Exorcism in Crisis: The Middle Ages, 900–1500.- 4.Exorcism in Counter-Reformation Europe.- 5.Catholic Exorcism beyond Catholic Europe.- 6.Exorcism in the Age of Reason.- 7.Exorcism in an Age of Doubt: The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. - 8.The Return of Exorcism.