‘Prey for the Devil’: Do Catholic Exorcism Schools Really Exist?
Many horror movies centered on demonic possession and exorcism involve trained priests who seem to know what they are doing. But Prey for the Devil follows a nun just starting her spiritual education.
The film features a fictional religious institution called St. Michael the Archangel School of Exorcism. In concept, a Catholic school for exorcism sounds fascinating. It has many left wondering if such places exist in real life.
A high-tech exorcism school is featured in ‘Prey for the Devil’
Prey for the Devil tells a modern-day story about Sister Ann, a young nun determined to help rid the world of evil spirits. The Catholic church doesn’t allow women to conduct the Rite of Exorcism. But due to the rise in demonic possessions, they open more exorcism schools worldwide, including St. Michael’s in the U.S. After recognizing her talent and passion, they allow Sister Ann to join.
The film was helmed by The Last Exorcism director Daniel Stamm and written by Robert Zappia. It stars Jacqueline Byers (Salvation, Diggstown) as Sister Ann, Colin Salmon (Limitless, Krypton) as Father Quinn, and Virginia Madsen (Candyman, Designated Survivor) as Dr. Peters.
Do Catholic exorcism schools like the one in ‘Prey for the Devil’ really exist?
The school in Prey for the Devil, St. Michael the Archangel School of Exorcism, was made up for the film. But a Catholic exorcism school does exist.
However, it is nothing like the one depicted in the movie. The Sacerdos Institute in Rome holds an annual course sponsored by the Vatican. This class educates priests and prepares them to perform the spiritual rite.
According to the institution’s website, the course offers “academic and interdisciplinary research on the ministry of exorcism.” It also covers a wide range of topics, including spirituality, criminology, law, theology, anthropology, neuroscience, and pharmacology.
As the BBC reports in 2018, due to increased reports of demonic possession, the Vatican’s exorcism program hosts more and more priests yearly. To meet the growing demand, the Diocese of Sicily and Chicago also started offering similar courses.
Is ‘Prey for the Devil’ based on a true story?
Real-life events inspire many exorcism movies, including the horror classic The Exorcist, movies. So naturally, people wonder if Prey for the Devil is based on a true story.
The film is purely fictional. But screenwriter Robert Zappia revealed that he came up with the idea of St. Michael the Archangel School of Exorcism after reading about the Vatican’s exorcism course.
“[Reports] were saying there’s a shortage of priests and they don’t have enough people, enough clergy to perform these exorcisms and there’s this rise,” Zappia said in an interview with We Watched a Movie. “So it started percolating my mind.”
“And then I started thinking, ‘Well what if they open a school?’” he continued. “Because there is one in Rome which I didn’t realize until I started reading these articles. What if they opened up one in the U.S they started opening them up in different places around the globe?”
Prey for the Devil opens in theaters on October 28, 2022.
