RT-Engels: 30-03-2026,
There has been a 650% increase in the number of trained exorcists in the country, Father Chad Ripperger has said
The demand for exorcisms in the US has skyrocketed in recent years, leading to a significant increase in the number of priests trained to perform the ritual, a leading Catholic exorcist has revealed.
Speaking to the New York Post, Father Chad Ripperger of the Archdiocese of Denver stated that the Catholic Church currently has around 150 priests in the US who can perform exorcisms. In 2020, there were only about 20 priests trained in the practice, marking a whopping 650% increase in just a few years.
However, Ripperger argued that the phenomenon reflects a rise in human sinfulness and occult involvement rather than an increase in demonic activity.
“The demons are empowered as more and more people commit evil deeds,” the priest said, pointing to voluntary engagement in Satanism or witchcraft as a key factor making individuals susceptible to demonic influence. At the same time, he noted that only “about 10% of cases are as dramatic as portrayed in Hollywood.”
Reverend Dan Todd, a trained exorcist in New Jersey, also told the New York Post that while “the devil is out there,” about 99% of cases are due to mental illness, adding that psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder can often mimic demonic possession.
The surge in demands for exorcisms has become so pronounced that Pope Leo XIV convened a summit of the world’s most senior exorcists at the Vatican earlier this month.