Catholic priests in the Philippines are turning to prayers of spiritual cleansing and exorcism to fight against the coronavirus epidemic.
On Thursday, the Philippine Association of Catholic Exorcists was called upon by Rev. Jose Francisco Syquia, the chief exorcist of the Archdiocese of Manila, to recite the “Prayers to Stem the Scourge of the Pandemic,” a prayer first arranged by Rev. Winston Cabading.
“Let us pray for our protection and of the whole world from this evil and from the father of this evil. The devil will surely use this present suffering and vulnerability in the world to launch a spiritual attack,” Syquia told the group of exorcists.
The prayer has nine parts and will be recited by the association at 8 p.m. each day “until the scourge of the pandemic is lifted by the Lord.”
In February, the Vatican created new exorcism training after demand for the practice skyrocketed in Italy over the past several years. Italian priest and exorcist Benigno Palilla said people in that country registered to more than 500,000 requests for exorcism in 2019.
“Spiritual warfare is our ministry. This is the side of the battlefield that the Lord has called us to bolster, defend, and fight in. May we fight the good fight,” added Syquia.
Exorcism is a spiritual practice to evict demonic entities from a person or place they are believed to inhabit.
