He spit at the relics and at the priests' hands. R spit at the faces of those who held him and at those who prayed over him. The contortions revealed physical strength beyond natural To struggle with his pillow and the bed clothing. "The prayers of the exorcism were continued and R was seized violently so he began Raymond Bishop, S.J., in a 1933 Archive yearbook photo.Īs the priests prayed, Robbie's reactions became extreme. Writing in his diary on William Van Roo, S.J., John O'Flaherty, S.J., and Joseph Boland, S.J., also assisted Other Jesuits and Scholastics including Walter Halloran, The ExorcismĪccording to the diary kept by Bishop, after Ritter authorized the Exorcism, he andīowdern, the lead exorcist, visited Robbie in Bel Nor nightly throughout the rest Louis Archbishop Joseph Ritter to perform The strange events continued and escalated.īowdern and Bishop sought permission from St. The visit, Robbie suffered long scratches in the shape of a cross and objects including With extensive teaching and pastoral experience, visited Robbie two days later. The 52 year-old Bowdern, a World War II veteran Francis XavierĬollege Church, SLU's spiritual home. Returning to SLU, Bishop sought out William Bowdern, S.J., pastor of St. Priest sprinkled holy water to make the sign of the cross. Robbie's bed was shaking when they met but the shaking stopped when the Kenny, S.J., and SLU President Paul Reinert, S.J., met with the boy after blessing The young priest, acting on the advice of fellow faculty member, Laurence One of Robbie's cousins, a University student, had informed Bishop about the strangeĮvents. S.J., a Jesuit teaching at SLU's Department (now School) of Education, visited the SLU's Jesuits Step In to Aid a Child in CrisisĪfter Robbie and his mother arrived in St. Francis Xavier College Church, where William Bowdern, S.J., was pastor when theĮvents of the Exorcism occurred. Louis where they stayed with relatives in Bel Nor, a northern suburb. The bizarre Robbie's mother, convinced that an answer might lie with Aunt Tillie, took the boy When the tests failed to turn up any ailments, the boy was sent home. Robbie underwent psychological and physical testing at the Georgetown University Hospital. a sacred and rare Catholic ritual - between February and March 1949, it appears While a debate continues about whether Hughes attempted to perform the rite of Exorcism Sources claims Hughes was so shakenīy the visit that he reached out to Patrick O'Boyle, the archbishop of Washington, One source indicates that Hughes visited the home. While Robbie's mother attempted to use the blessed items as instructed, the holy waterįlew across the room one evening, smashing. Holy water and blessed candles for use in their home if the events began again. Albert Hughes, prayed with the family and offered The family approached a local Catholic parish, St. Of its own accord. Even after inviting Robbie to stay at his own home, the bizarreĪt a loss, the minister suggested that Robbie's parents turn to the Catholic Churchįor help. Schulze also saw the boy's bed shake, dishes fly through the air and furniture move Miles Schulze, who agreed to observe their son. The family also turned to a local Lutheran minister, Rev. Increasingly concerned, Robbie's parents took him to see a medical doctor, a psychologistĪnd a psychiatrist. And strange things began to happen in Robbie's house. In Spiritualism and the occult, some reports claim she introduced Robbie to the Ouijaīoard, a game conceived of during the late 19th Century when Spiritualism had becomeįollowing Aunt Tillie's death, in his grief, the teen allegedly tried to contact her Louis family member, was especially close to Robbie. Near Washington, D.C., and had close family ties to the St. Called "Robbie," among other pseudonyms, the boy and his family lived The incident that inspired both the 1971 novel and 1973 film, The Exorcist, took place in 1949, and centered around a teenage boy who has never been formally Were deeply involved in the incident that inspired the 1973 horror classic, The Exorcist. Francis Xavier College Church and Saint Louis University
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