MODERN INSTANCES OF DEMONIACAL POSSESSION 167 



ab omnibus, he thinks, applies here with peculiar force and fitness, 

 for there is no philosophical or theological tenet resting upon a 

 broader basis of universal consent. Christ, he says, gave his dis- 

 ciples power and authority over all devils to cast them out, and 

 this same power is conferred upon every priest by his consecration, 

 although he is never to exercise it without the permission of the 

 bishop. 



Incidents like that which took place at Wernding have been 

 of comparatively frequent occurrence even in recent times. In 

 cloistral and episcopal archives there are many records of this 

 sort that have never excited public sensation because they were 

 not reported by the press. In 1842 a devil named Ro-ro-ro-ro took 

 possession of " a maiden of angelic beauty " in Luxemburg, and 

 was cast out by Bishop Laurentius. This demon claimed to be 

 one of the archangels expelled from heaven, and appears to have 

 rivaled Parson Stocker in antisemitic animosity. When the 

 name of Jesus was mentioned, he cried out derisively : " O that 

 Jew ! Didn't he have to drink gall ? " When commanded to de- 

 part, he begged that he might go into some Jew. The bishop, 

 however, refused to give him leave and bade him " go to hell," 

 which he forthwith did, " moaning as he went, in melancholy 

 tones, that seemed to issue from the bowels of the earth, ' Burn- 

 ing, burning, everlastingly burning in hell ! ' The voice was so 

 sad," adds the bishop, " that we should all have wept for sheer 

 compassion, had we not known that it was the devil." 



A more recent case in point is that of a lay brother connected 

 with an educational institute in Rome, who on January 3, 1887, 

 became diabolically possessed, and was exorcised by Father Jor- 

 dan. In this instance the leading spirit was Lucifer himself, 

 attended by a host of satellites, of whom Lignifex, Latibor, Moni- 

 tor, Sefilie, Shulium, Ritu, Haijunikel, Exaltor, and Reromfex were 

 the most important. It took about an hour and a half to cast 

 out these demons the first time, but they renewed their assaults 

 on February 10th, 11th, and 17th, and were not completely dis- 

 comfited and driven back into the infernal regions until February 

 23d, and then only by using the water of Lourdes, which, as 

 Father Jordan states, acted upon them like poison, causing them 

 to writhe to and fro. Lucifer was especially rude and saucy in 

 his remarks. Thus, for example, when Father Jordan said, 

 "Every knee in heaven and on the earth and under the earth 

 shall bow to the name of Jesus," the fallen " Son of the Morning " 

 retorted, " Not Luci, not Luci — never ! " 



It would be easy to multiply authentic and official reports of 

 things of this sort that have happened within the memory of the 

 present generation ; but they all offer in the main the same feat- 

 ures, being characterized by grossness and grotesqueness, with 



