The oldest exorcist in Italy turns 100: “The Madonna has helped me many times” Satan: “This is the one that protects you.”
Father Francesco Cavallo recently celebrated his 100th birthday. Let’s find out who is the oldest exorcist in Italy.
Having become a priest in 1947, he was ordained an exorcist at the end of 1979 and since then he has never stopped helping and advising the faithful.
The help of the Blessed Virgin during the exorcisms
Speaking of exorcisms, Father Cavallo in an interview explained ” the importance of the divine blessing that puts an end to exorcism: it is a very effective whip inflicted on the evil spirit “. The experience accumulated over the years makes him say with certainty that what drives the demons is hatred. On the other hand, the very essence of the devil is full of a feeling of rancor and envy that is manifested through hatred.
For this reason it causes suffering to the possessed people. To make people understand what he refers to, he tells of an exorcism to a boy: “I asked him what the number of demons that tormented him was. With a hoarse voice, very different from his, he was forced to say: ‘We are six’, and they told me their names. To my second question: “Since you agree in tormenting this young man, is there love between you?” This is their answer: “Between us there is no love, but hate.”
In the course of the same interview, Father Cavallo also confirmed that the most powerful enemy of satan is the Madonna. In fact, on more than one occasion, precisely the protection of the Blessed Virgin saved him from the aggressions of the possessed. In this regard he declared: “Many times people possessed or harassed by the devil have tried to attack me, but they have never managed to touch me. Their hands, having reached a few centimeters from my face, have found an invisible obstacle “. Some of them, the priest adds, said: “There is that one that protects you”, referring to the Heavenly Mother.
Father Cavallo’s life: missionary and exorcist
Father Francesco Cavallo was born in Bari on 16 November 1919, although he was only registered on 20 January 1920 (a typical circumstance in those years). As a boy he shows a marked propensity for religion and on Sundays he never misses a Mass. It will be precisely in church that he will understand that God had called him to an important task, to become a missionary . When he communicated his choice to the family he received contrary opinions, since the missionary life was dangerous and it was feared that he could die far from his land.
Father Cavallo, however, had by now heard the call and heeded the will of God. So in 1940 he left for San Pietro in Vicoli (Ravenna) for the novitiate of the Xaverian friars. The following year he took the oath and was ordained a friar, then moved to Parma for his theological studies. After theological education, he was sent to the United States in 1947, more precisely to Boston . In the American city a Xaverian community had just been founded and was given the task of welcoming the vocations of young Americans.
After 13 years he set off for Sierra Leone and in the 1970s he was recalled to Italy to become a Novice Master. Finally in 1979 he was ordained an exorcist by Monsignor Giovanni Bianchi and began his new activity of supporting the faithful . This new assignment led him to work in the Sanctuary of Montevergine (Tuscany) and in that of Pompei.
The oldest exorcist in Italy is 100 years old
Last November 16, Father Cavallo, now stationed in the Xaverian Missionary community of Salerno, has celebrated his 100th birthday. To celebrate it the confreres, the superiors, the Archbishop of the Diocese of Salerno and a crowd of faithful. Even today, the oldest exorcist in Italy continues to operate. Interviewed by ‘Avvenire’ on his advisory activity to the faithful stated: “Thanks to the goodness of God I have a certain amount of experience. I question people to see if their sufferings are due to natural causes, diseases or if they are caused by satan . I thank the Lord who has kept my mental lucidity, so I can do exorcisms, confess, advise “.
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Luca Scapatello
