The Reverend Theophilus Riesinger, OFMCap | |
|---|---|
 A portrait of Theophilus Riesinger taken for Time Magazine's 1936 issue on the Earling Exorcism. A caption below reads "Father Theophilus ... wrestled with Iowa devils". | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 29, 1899 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Francis Xavier Riesinger February 27, 1868 |
| Died | November 9, 1941 (aged 73) Wisconsin, United States of America |
| Nationality | German |
Theophilus Riesinger, OFMCap, born Francis Xavier Riesinger (February 27, 1868 - November 9, 1941) was a German-American Capuchin friar and priest, who became widely known as an exorcist in the United States.
Riesinger was born in Germany. He later moved to the United States where he entered the Capuchin Order. He was ordained on 29 June 1899. In the summer of 1928, due to his previous experience in dealing with possessions, he was requested by the Bishop of Des Moines to conduct the rite of exorcism on a Anna Ecklund, a 46-year-old woman who was suspected of being possessed. While preaching at a parish mission in St. Joseph Parish in Earling, Iowa, he asked the permission of the pastor to conduct the ceremony in the parish. Receiving this, he chose a convent of Franciscan Sisters on the outskirts of the town for its privacy.[1]
After 23 days of performing the exorcism, Riesinger was exhausted. Two days before Christmas of that year, he claimed the demons were driven out, and the woman cried "My Jesus! Mercy! Praised be Jesus Christ!"[2]
Reverend Pastor Joseph Steiger, who oversaw the exorcism, gave his account to Reverend Carl Vogl in Germany, who published it as a pamphlet. This piece made it back to German-speaking Catholics in the United States and was translated into English in 1935 as Begone Satan by Celestine Kapsner, a Benedictine monk of Saint John's Abbey in Minnesota. Soon after, in February of 1936, Time published an article covering the pamphlet.[2] Riesinger’s account of the exorcism was recorded by acquaintance Federick J. Bunse in 1934. It was titled The Earling possession case: An exposition of the exorcism of 'Mary', a demoniac. The church did not give approval for its publication. It remained unpublished until 2020, when it was included in Joseph P. Laycock’s The Penguin Book of Exorcisms.[3]
Riesinger died on November 9, 1941.[4] A necrology of Riesinger was placed on the Internet as part of the Capuchin Heritage Series.[5][6]