Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1541835
THE occult has always held a curi- ous fascination in modern society. From Hollywood films depicting head-spinning exorcisms to teen- age experiments with Ouija boards, the line between entertainment and reality often blurs. But for Fr Marcello Ghirlando, the Maltese Catholic Church's official exorcist, this is no game; it is a daily confron- tation with what he believes to be genuine spiritual suffering. As president of the Commission on Occult and Satanism within the Maltese and Gozitan churches, Ghirlando has spent three decades in a ministry that most priests never encounter. His work involves pray- ing with people who believe they are possessed or oppressed by evil spir- its, discerning between mental illness and what the church calls diabolical influence, and offering spiritual de- liverance to those he determines are genuinely afflicted. The priest, now 63, was drawn in- to this controversial world almost by accident. In the early 1990s, whilst studying for his doctorate in Rome, he was asked to assist the legendary exorcist Fr Gabriele Amorth. Three years of apprenticeship with Fr Amorth transformed the young Maltese priest. He witnessed cases that defied easy explanation, learned to distinguish between psychiat- ric illness and spiritual distress, and eventually became one of the few priests in Malta qualified to perform exorcisms. But his is not the sensational world portrayed in films. He insists most cases are not demonic at all, but rather mental health issues, relation- ship problems, or the desperate ac- tions of people seeking control over chaotic lives. He works closely with psychiatrists and psychologists, of- ten referring cases to mental health professionals rather than performing exorcisms. However, in rare cases that still haunt him, he has encountered what he believes to be genuine possession. 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 DECEMBER 2025 INTERVIEW Exorcist Fr Marcello Ghirlando: 'It's not all in the mind' The Maltese Catholic Church's official exorcist, Fr Marcello Ghirlando, speaks to Juliana Zammit about his 30-year ministry confronting demonic possession. He talks about how most cases turn out to be mental illness, and the rare instances where evil spirits reveal their biblical names