There has been a surge, apparently, in the incidents of “demonic possessions” in the Philippines since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and the Catholic Church is building a centre dedicated to exorcisms to train priests to expel the demons, according to a Daily Mail report. The St Michael Centre for Spiritual Liberation and Exorcism — the first of its kind in Asia — is coming up in Manila, and it will provide a dedicated site to perform the rituals.
The centre will have a chapel, besides rooms for counselling, exorcisms and interviews, the report said.
Father Jose Francisco Syquia, who is the director and chief exorcist of the Archdiocese of Manila Office of Exorcism, reportedly receives at least 10 reports of “spiritual disturbances” every day.
According to the church, the pandemic caused mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical stress, which made for a “perfect storm for possessions and demonic intervention”, the report said.
“A product of more than seven years of prayers, planning and fundraising, this will be the first of its kind in Asia, if not the world,” the Archdiocese of Manila Office of Exorcism said in a Facebook post.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Manila centre was held last month, and it is expected to train Catholic priests from all over the world.
Centre To Train Catholic Priests From All Over The World
Father Syquia said the centre would minister to “those in bondage to the devil who are therefore the poorest of the poor and are usually overlooked”.
Acvcording to the Daily Mail report, Father Syquia believes a “full possession” accounts for only 20 per cent of all exorcisms, and the majority of them are performed on people being “harassed physically” by the evil spirits.
Quoting him, the report also said there has been a “sharp increase” in the past three to five years in witchcraft and unhealthy home lives, which he said could be contributing to the situation.
The centre will serve as the headquarters of the Philippine Association of Catholic Exorcists (PACE), which functions under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, the archdiocese said in the Facebook post.
The Catholic Church allows priests to perform exorcisms only after intensive training and approval from a bishop. It was in 2005 that the Vatican first offered a course on exorcisms. After Brazil and Mexico, the Philippines has the third largest population of Catholics in the world.