Radio Times

Review by:

Jane Anderson

As worldwide shortages go, food, shelter and medicines would top most people’s lists. But there’s also a global dearth of trained exorcists. Presenter Jolyon Jenkins, who was brought up in a C of E household, was intrigued by the recent release of The Rite, a film in which an American priest is sent to Rome to train as an exorcist under the guidance of a master, played by Anthony Hopkins.
Once Jenkins began investigating, he discovered exorcist training schools not just in Rome and the US, but also in Margate, Kent. He goes to visit Pastor Vincent by the sea and witnesses him providing an exorcism, or “deliverance”, on a woman who believes that spiritual attacks are the cause of her suicidal thoughts.
Some of the testimonies offered up to Jenkins could be taken as ludicrous — rabbit sacrifices triggering the demonic possession of a middle-class Upminster home, for example. Others are simply astonishing: that oral and anal sex are an invitation to evil spirits. But Jenkins can only be admired for the non-judgemental way in which he reveals the growing number of apparently rational people who believe we need more exorcists in the modern world.

About this programme

Jolyon Jenkins examines why there is a growing demand for exorcists, learning that an increase in people believing in the occult and practising New Age forms of spiritualism may be the reason. Attending an exorcism in a Margate hotel, he meets the professionals who are training the next generation of practitioners.

Cast and crew

Crew

Producer

Jolyon Jenkins

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