Holy Time Capsule: The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel
Written by John Carroll
In an apparition deemed worthy of belief by the Catholic Church, the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to an Ecuadorian nun in the early seventeenth century, and warned her that “Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic Sects.” This must have been a confusing message, because Freemasonry wouldn’t be founded until 1717, over one hundred years after it was delivered. Our Lady of Good Success clarified, stating, “this knowledge will only become known to the general public in the 20th century.” This suggests that divine knowledge is strategically planted at certain points in time, in order to be dug up and utilized when it is needed most in the future. A more recent, and much more gruesome event may have also been allowed to occur for the same purpose.
In 1977, two priests were charged with negligent homicide following the death of a young Bavarian girl named Anneliese Michel. As the Washington Post reported, Anneliese “had occasional psychiatric care, and later developed a history of epilepsy, for which she was treated. When, after four years of medical treatment, her condition and mental depression worsened, she and her parents apparently became convinced that demons or the devil had possessed her, and the family turned to the local church for the cure.”
Over the next eleven months, the two priests performed scores of exorcisms as they fought to expel six demons from Anneliese’s body. The spiritual battle that unfolded was later used as the basis for the Hollywood film The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
The demons tormented Anneliese day and night. They forced her into screaming and barking fits. She was made to strip naked, injure herself, eat insects and lick her own urine off the floor. The demons also refused to let her eat, and it was malnourishment and dehydration that was officially deemed the cause of her death. She weighed just 68 pounds when she passed away at the age of 23.
The exorcisms of Anneliese were recorded by the priests, and captured the voices of the demons speaking through her. If you have the stomach for it, you can listen to them here. A large excerpt of the transcript was also translated into English, and can be read here.
Theologian Timothy Gordon, friend and frequent guest of the Quite Frankly Podcast, described the transcript of the exorcisms as “Catholic inside baseball.” Indeed, the dialogue between the priests and demons offers a rare peek behind the curtain into the spiritual realm. In much of the transcript, the demons gleefully brag about the decay of the faith, citing the bad fruits of the Second Vatican Council as their work. That council commenced shortly after the rumored Enthronement of Lucifer ceremony in the Vatican.
The gospel is full of stories about Jesus Christ expelling demons who possessed people. That same power is able to be wielded by the clergy today because of a phenomenon called apostolic succession. When a bishop or priest performs an exorcism, they have divine authority over the demons they engage. The demons may temporarily lie and resist, but will ultimately be compelled to answer all questions truthfully and obey the command to leave their host.
The fact that Anneliese lost her life while possessed makes her case incredibly unique. Why weren’t the priests, wielding the authority of God, able to drive out the demons? According to her mother, Anneliese had volunteered to become a victim soul.
Two years after her torments began, and before the first exorcism, the demons suddenly left in July 1975. Anneliese claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary while out on a walk, and after the vision she was restored to perfect health. Some time later, Anneliese told her mother that the Virgin Mary appeared to her again, and asked her if she would be willing to do penance for the sinning youth and priests. She said yes, and told her boyfriend that “things will soon get bad again.” They did, and the priests performed the first exorcism that September.
Today, much of the world is starting to understand that what they previously perceived as reality was actually just a web of carefully crafted lies, meant to obfuscate unspeakable crimes against humanity by those in power. President Trump acknowledged this deception when he shared a letter from Archbishop Carlo Viganò earlier this year. During these times, whether you believe it’s by pure luck or as part of a divine plan, I think many of us will end up finding God in reverse. In other words, we’ll discover that God is real because we’ll first discover that the Devil is real.
Becoming “redpilled” can sometimes feel like waking up from a dream, only to find ourselves living in a nightmare. If what I suspect is true, that there is ultimately a light at the end of the tunnel, then Saint Anneliese is like a pathfinder, lighting a beacon through time that guides us home.
