Catholic Priest Leads Rosary and Performs Exorcism at Idaho State Capitol
On the morning of Monday, July 26th, the members of the Satanic Temple of Idaho gathered on the front steps of the Idaho State Capitol building to deliver what they called “Idaho's first Satanic Prayer at the Idaho Statehouse.”
- The Satanic Temple (TST) of Idaho became an official chapter in August 2020. Among their holiday observances, they celebrate their Chapter anniversary on August 17th.
- All public reservations at the Capitol Building are public knowledge and can be viewed up to 6 months in advance online. Somebody noticed the TST reservation scheduled for 10:30A.M. and the word began to spread.
- A Traditional Catholic group called "Tradition, Family, Property" organized a public rosary in response to the satanic prayer event, which they scheduled for 6:00pm of the same evening.
- Some Catholics felt that it was important to be at the Capitol building offering prayers of reparation at the same time that the TST was conducting their prayers. So, a separate group decided they would meet at 10:30am to pray a rosary at the capitol while the Satanists were actually occupying it.
- I sent out emails to encourage people to join the rosary rally, whether it be the 10:30am or 6:00pm, or even to pray from home if unable to attend in person. I sent the link of the official reservation, and I called the Capitol to confirm that the event was, in fact, happening.
- I e-mailed the priest at St. John’s Cathedral (located just around the corner from the Capitol building in downtown Boise.) I encouraged the priest to bring the Blessed Sacrament in a Eucharistic procession around the building, but if that was not possible, then I asked him to at least join us in praying the rosary, as I felt the presence of a Catholic priest would be greatly needed. However, my e-mail received no response.
2. Go to Mass first if possible: there no more powerful means to defeat the devil than the Mass.
3. Never enter into dialogue with the devil: he is a more powerful being than you. Nothing will be gained by entering into conversation or debate. It may even have negative consequences. Do not enter into conversation: just pray and trust supernatural means.
The following morning, he offered an early Mass for us to attend. During the homily, he stressed to us that these people are not our enemies; our only enemy is Satan. These people are deluded and deceived, but there is always hope for them. After Mass, we all headed out to the capitol building.
The TST group was scheduled to start their prayer at 10:30, but they must have started a little earlier because when I arrived at 10:20 they were already inside the building. Outside the capitol building, I saw only a large group of evangelical Christians standing in a circle and singing on the steps.
I soon found out that the Satanists, the Catholic priest, and everyone else, were already inside the rotunda.
When I walked in, the first thing I saw was a woman dressed in a black robe and hood, her face was painted black, and she was holding a flag. As I kept walking, I saw a man dressed in the same costume and holding another flag. Directly behind him, the Catholic priest was on his knees in prayer.
All the members of TST, who were involved in the "prayer," were wearing black robes, black hoods, and many of them had their faces painted black or were wearing black masks. They were standing in a circle around the rotunda, holding different flags. I only walked by two of them, because I went straight to the wing where the priest was. A group of about 45 Catholics filled the hall behind him and were praying with him. Many of the Catholics were on their knees with rosaries in hand, and several were holding crucifixes.
I could hear the voice of one of the Satanists, although I could not make out the words he was saying. I assume he was the minister leading their prayer. Whenever he intoned something, the other members would shout a response of, “Hail, Satan!”
Simultaneously, the Catholic priest was praying Hail Mary's with the Catholics responding. At the end of each decade, the Gloria Patri was chanted in Latin.
The two competing prayers echoed in the halls of the Capitol building: one from the lips of a Satanist directed to Satan, the other from the lips of a Catholic priest directed to Almighty God. My mother, who was there with me, later told me that it reminded her of the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal together on Mount Carmel.
I wasn’t expecting the intense emotional response that I felt. The spiritual tension in the building was palpable. I had brought my camera to take pictures, but now I found my hands too shaky to even command the camera.
The Satanists prayer was brief. Within a few minutes, they marched out of the building together and down the steps. Maybe I should have stayed on my knees praying, but I wanted to show physical proof to the people who doubted: this did happen, they were really there. So, I followed them out and took a few pictures as they left.
Our group was not the only visible response to the Satanists prayer. There were several evangelical Christians on the front steps and in the rotunda. They were laying hands on and praying over everything.
As the satanic group descended the stairs and walked away, many of these people stretched their hands out over them and prayed.
At this time, I noticed two Catholic men across the street from the Capitol. They had a flag that said, “Christ is King,” a statue of Our Lady, and were praying the rosary.
The reason why Catholics have a strong discourse to Mary in defense against the devil is because of Genesis 3:15, when God spoke to the devil after the Fall: “I will put enmities between you and the woman, and your seed and her seed. She shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for her heel.” The Catholic Church recognizes this “Woman” to be Mary, the mother of our Savior. This is why it is not uncommon to see images depicting Mary crushing the head of a serpent beneath her foot.
When I went back to finish the rosary, a man who worked at the Capitol building walked through our praying group and thanked us for being there. I’m not sure who he was, but he went into the office of the Secretary of State right behind us. It made me realize how the people at the capitol could be vulnerable to spiritual attack from these prayers of the Satanists, and that our whole state could be at risk from spiritual attack since this is the seat of power of our state government. Who can say what exactly the TST was praying for? With vague platitudes like "freedom of religion" and "representation," we can only imagine the deepest intentions of their hearts - hearts which they have willingly given over to evil spirits. I can't imagine being there without an ordained priest present.
The final prayer of the rosary is the Salve Regina, a Marian hymn composed during the Middle Ages and traditionally sung in Latin. It was beautifully moving to hear this Latin hymn resounding through the halls of the Capitol.
Now it was time for the Catholic priest to perform the exorcism. He encouraged the faithful present to pray silently, suggesting Marian prayers or the St. Michael Prayer, which is a prayer specifically against demonic powers. He spent about five minutes reciting the prayers of the exorcism in Latin, then he walked around the entire rotunda sprinkling holy water. At the conclusion, he gave everyone a blessing.
Outside, I witnessed a Protestant woman approach the Catholic priest and thank him for his presence. She said, “I know the presence of God was here today, and that’s partly thanks to you.”
The presence of the Catholic priest at this TST prayer event was not only supremely important for the mitigation of demonic influence, but as a witness to those of other faiths. Here is a priest, in a cassock in public, performing a rite of exorcism. He was functioning in his ministerial duty to shepherd and protect souls from the dangerous influence of the devil.
I won't pretend to know the degree to which these people fully understand what they are doing. On Social Media, they proudly declare that they "can't wait to go to hell" — is this a joke? Who knows. To claim to be a “Minister of Satan” is a dangerous claim. A minister is an agent, a servant, an instrument. It is one who has been given the authority or power to act for or represent another. It is a means by which something is done. To claim the title "Minister of Satan" is to claim that you act on behalf of Satan, that you are an instrument in the hand of Satan, that you are the means by which Satan acts. They say they want only "freedom of religion" and "religious plurality," yet if they act as ministers of Satan, then we can assume far deeper intentions that they themselves may not even be fully aware of. Within comment threads, you will see other Satanists thanking this group for their "act of public good," as though what they do is for the good of society. To what extent do they understand that what they do is immensely harmful to humanity? They are deluded pawns in a spiritual battle far bigger than themselves.
I have to admit, I am disappointed that no other priest or deacon in the diocese showed up. The devil was literally on their doorstep and they made no visible opposition. This was the TST's first ever public prayer at the capitol building. Now is the time to pay attention and squash this demonic effort in Idaho before it can grow traction.
The priest who came lives and works 450 miles north of Boise, yet he made the effort to be here because he understood the supernatural importance of being present.
When it came down to it: who was the only priest to come? It was the Society priest. The priest from the little chapel in the middle of no-where. The priest who is scorned and scoffed at by the diocese. The only priest who showed up to do the work that only a priest can do, is the very priest who is most ostracized by the diocese.
What this priest did yesterday was a gift to us and to the state of Idaho. As the Satanists pray for our political process and legislation to be directed and influenced by demonic powers, this priest showed up to protect our statehouse against the power of Satan and to withdraw from his evil dominion.
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