Argentina: San Isidro Exorcism Prompts Memories of Father Pierre

Date: Tuesday, August 22 2006

Source: EL LIBERAL http://www.elliberal.com.ar/

Argentina: San Isidro Exorcism Prompts Father Pierre Memory

Over 15 years ago, Santiago del Estero was convulsed by the news that several sessions of a special rite performed by the Catholic Church were being performed. At that time, an effort was made to expel the devil from the body of a young woman from the city of Clodomira. Beyond the stories of the gut-wrenching screams issued from the girl, or that her body convulsed uncontrollably, there was the figure of the priest who performed the rite behind the closed doors of a parish church in La Banda, facing the altar and with several persons assisting him in prayers and in controlling the young woman when the struggle for mastery reached its peak. It can be said that Father Fils Pierre was ? perhaps ? the last exorcist in Santiago del Estero, having released several young people from the power of Satan during the 1990s.

Last Tuesday, in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, another priest ? Father Juan ? preformed the fifth and final exorcism session on a 33 year-old woman who, along with her husband and six assistants from the parish of San Andres Avelino, underwent one of the Church?s oldest rites.

As La Naci?n mentioned in its report yesterday, the ?weapons employed by the priest in the coming combat: holy water, oil a crucifix and photocopies of prayers? were the same ones employed by Father Pierre in the Cristo Rey Parish of La Banda.

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When Father Pierre Exorcised a Young Mother

?This woman is mine, and I?m taking her,? cautioned a powerful and intimidating male voice that appeared out of nowhere in the house of a young mother from Clodomira 22 years ago.

The announcement alarmed the relatives, along with the woman?s aggressive behavior. Without hesitation, they resorted to Father Pedro Fils Pierre, parish priest of Cristo Rey, in the city of La Banda.

In this state of affairs, the priest found himself dealing with his very first exorcism, a matter in which he lacked previous experience, aside from his renowned talent as a practitioner of the Charismatic Renewal, which was incipient at the time.

There was no doubt that a case of demonic possession was involved, and the priest, with the aid of a group of lay practitioners, performed the exorcism successfully. Nowadays, the woman, identified only as L.L. leads a normal life.

One of the participants in the rite of exorcism was Hector Sayago, a bachelor of communications, along with other young volunteers.

When consulted, Sayago?s memory went back to the start of the event on January 2, 1984, when Liliana, a 21 year-old teacher, married with a 2 year old child, living in Clodomira, began to present radical changes in behavior.

Grief-stricken, her relatives went to the town doctor, who also witnessed the changes when he heard a heavy, macabre voice issue from the young woman?s mouth and intimidate everyone present. The same voice ordered her to set fire to all her clothing while the words ?Ya sos mia? (You?re already mine) appeared on her abdomen, along with crosses.

Confused, both the physician and L.L.?s parents decided to appeal to Father Pierre.

This, remembers Sayazo: ?Was a circumstance that involved him, because he had hitherto had nothing to do with exorcisms. Some people from Clodomira came to find him early one morning , saying that something strange was going on with a lady. They were recommended by Dr. Juri.?

The charismatic priest had his first contact with the young woman and from that moment on, Father Pierre summoned a group of people to support him with prayers.

With the intention of healing the woman?s spirit, the volunteers prayed within the Cristo Rey church while Father Pierre prayed the release from exorcism prayers in the presence of the victim. However, the most dramatic situation took place on a Sunday, during the nocturnal mass, when Liliana was brought in.?

According to Sayazo: ?She made it just fine to the Church?s entrance, but when she went inside, there was no controlling her. She transformed. What shocked us the most was that she entered dragging herself through the pews until she reached the altar, to the feet of Father Pierre. It was a very shocking thing. Those of us at the mass weren't expecting it, and the church was full of people.?

After many private masses, Liliana?s behavior started to change, although the treatment lasted some three months with daily morning prayers.

During the healing process, inscriptions would often appear on her abdomen?sometimes in response to the sacramental rites of holy water or the oils for the sick.

Sayago adds: ?It was a very powerful case. It must?ve been a possession. An emblematic case ? the first and strongest that Father Pierre had to face. There were lesser cases of obsession and disturbance; there was a girl from Santiago that took us some six months, but [the process] couldn?t be completed.?

Sayago maintains that to bring possession to an end, all depends on the individual. ?It depends on the type of life led by that person. It isn?t a vaccine that can be applied to drive the demon away. No, it always turns around and comes back in.?

(translation (c) 2006. S. Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to Christian Quintero)