The Devil Is Afraid of Me, written in interview format by angelologist Fr. Marcello Stanzione, offers a vivid portrait of Fr. Gabriele Amorth — longtime chief exorcist of Rome — and presents his theological convictions, pastoral insights, and battle-tested spiritual wisdom. Over the course of his ministry, he estimated performing roughly 60,000 exorcisms. This is not a sensationalist book. It is sober, pastoral, direct, and surprisingly joyful. It combines biography, interview, catechesis, testimony, and prayer. The structure moves between narrative descriptions of Fr. Amorth’s life and extended Q&A sections where he speaks candidly about Satan, possession, deliverance, Marian devotion, and the sacraments. The book’s purpose is clear: to reawaken the Church to the reality of the devil — and to remind us that Christ has already won.
Below are five key insights that emerge from this powerful work.
1. Fr. Amorth’s Personality: Humor, Courage, and Humility
Fr. Gabriele Amorth was not what many expect. He was not dark, brooding, or mystical in an eccentric way. He was joyful. Direct. Funny. He was “gruff only in appearance,” but famous for joking even during exorcisms. When a demon accused him of being a glutton, he replied: “Well, what’s it to you?” He would say to crowds who tried to touch him: “Come on, why touch me? Smell me; I stink of salami!” Even when tempted toward pride — surrounded by assistants and media attention — he would constantly pray: “Holy Spirit, intervene… You know that I am a good-for-nothing.” He even recounts receiving a literal kick during an exorcism after confessing his sins publicly — calling it a “healthy kick.” Behind the humor was immense courage. He received a gold medal for military valor during the Resistance (1944–45), and another “medal of valor” in the spiritual battle against the Evil One. He performed roughly sixty thousand exorcisms — sometimes seventeen per day — yet remained grounded. He lived detached from modern noise — not using a cell phone, internet, tv, or newspaper — while battling its spiritual consequences.
2. Fr. Amorth’s Marian Devotion: The Crushing of the Serpent
If there is one key to understanding Fr. Amorth’s strength, it is his devotion to Our Lady. He renewed his consecration daily. He prayed the entire Rosary every morning. One of his final books was dedicated to the Rosary (Il Mio Rosario). He often invoked the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe. He insists: “Based on our experience, we exorcists can testify that the role of the Immaculate One is fundamental in the struggle against Satan” (62). He recounts another forced confession from a demon of why Mary is so influential: “Because she is the most humble of all and I am the most proud; because she is the most obedient and I am the most rebellious; and because she is the most pure and I am the vilest” (65). Mary is not decorative. She is strategic. When asked whether he renewed his consecration daily, he responded that the important thing is to put one’s life and all one’s actions under the protective mantle of the Virgin Mary.
Fr. Amorth’s Invocation of the Virgin against Satan — O Mary, Holy Virgin, immaculate and pure, look at your children humbly prostrated before you. The ancient serpent, against whom the first divine curse was hurled, continues to fight, to undermine, and to tempt us children of Eve. Mother, you crushed his head from the first moment of your Immaculate Conception. Help us, O Mary, in this struggle. Keep away from us the pitfalls of the Evil One and the evil arts of his intermediaries. Let him not triumph over our weakness. Rather, teach us to imitate your virtues. Make us humble, full of faith, lofty and rich in grace, as you were. Thus, we shall be strong against Satan, crush his head, and be guided to that life where we will forever contemplate Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb, O clement, O pious, O sweet Virgin Mary! Amen.
3. Fr. Amorth on Satan: Real, Active, and Defeated
Fr. Amorth does not soften his language about the devil. Although “the devil is nothing against the mercy of God” (11), he insists the devil must be spoken of more, not less. He believes modern culture — and many clergy — have dangerously minimized him. He quotes Scripture repeatedly: “The whole world is in the power of the Evil One” (1 John 5:19). Jesus calls him “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). St. Paul calls him the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). Fr. Amorth emphasizes that the devil cannot act without God’s consent. Echoing St. Augustine: “If God gave Satan a free hand, none of us would remain alive.” Yet we should not fear Satan. Fr. Amorth says: “Fear sin, not the devil” (83). He even says: “The demon, being anti-God, is the destroyer… He succeeds very well in his task — only on the condition that man agrees to it” (70). The devil is powerful. But Christ is infinitely stronger. Fr. Amorth states: “So many times, the demons have said to him: “We can do nothing to you because you are too protected.” We can say, in general, that everyone can be the object of evil actions. But, for the one who prays, who is close to God and who lives in the grace of God, the situation is different; he is protected. This generates a type of boomerang effect: many wizards are afraid of the evil spells because they fear that they will fall on themselves” (57).
4. Fr. Amorth on Prayers of Liberation
One of the most pastorally important sections of the book addresses confusion about exorcism versus prayers of liberation. He explains clearly: Only bishops appoint official exorcists. But everyone can pray prayers of liberation (Mark 16:17). He insists: “The fundamental condition for casting out the demon is faith… even the faith of a child” (51). And surprisingly, he says: “The most effective prayers of liberation are those of praise and gratitude to God… The prayers of praise to God are much more efficacious than pronouncing phrases against Satan. This is deeply theological. Praise enthrones God — and dethrones the enemy. So we must emphasize prayers of praise and glory to God, because these prayers are very efficacious” (55).
A Prayer for One’s Own Liberation — “Holy Father, omnipotent and merciful God, in the name of Jesus Christ and through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, send Your Holy Spirit upon me; may the Spirit of the Lord descend upon me, mold me, form me, fill me, hear me, use me, heal me, cast out from me all the forces of evil, annihilate them, destroy them, so that I may be well and do good. Cast out from me all the spells, sorcery, black magic, black masses, evil eye, ties, curses, diabolical infestation, diabolical possession, diabolical obsession, all that is evil; sin, envy, jealousy, perfidy, discord, impurity, infatuation; physical, psychic, moral, spiritual, and diabolic illnesses. Burn all of these evils in hell, so that they will never again touch me or any other creature in the world. In the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, I order and command all unclean spirits, all the presences that molest me, to leave me immediately, to leave me definitely, and, chained by St. Michael the Archangel, by St. Gabriel, by St. Raphael, by my guardian angel, crushed under the heel of the Most Holy Immaculate Virgin, to go into the eternal abyss. Give me, O Father, much faith, joy, health, peace, and all the graces that I need. Lord Jesus, may Your most Precious Blood be upon me. Amen” (88).
5. Fr. Amorth on the Sacraments: The Real Weapons
Perhaps the most important insight of the entire book is this: Exorcism is not the primary weapon. The sacraments are. He writes: “The sacraments and the word of God are more efficacious than our personal invocations” (82). He lays out a sequential spiritual remedy: 1. Confession 2. Holy Mass 3. Communion 4. Eucharistic adoration 5. Biblical prayer 6. The Rosary. He even says: “I always have the Eucharist with me, even when I do exorcisms” (58). And his strongest pastoral line: “We must only fear not being in the state of grace with God” (83). Even his warnings about Freemasonry and the profanation of the Eucharist ultimately point back to this truth: those who attack the Host do so precisely because they believe in the Real Presence (59). The message is unmistakable: The ordinary life of grace is the greatest exorcism.
Review and Recommendation
I recommend this book for anyone who wants clarity about spiritual warfare without falling into fear or sensationalism. What makes it powerful is not just the subject matter, but the man himself. Through these pages, you encounter Fr. Amorth’s personality: his humor, his bluntness, his courage, his humility, and his deep Marian devotion. He jokes with demons, laughs at himself, prays constantly to the Holy Spirit, and entrusts everything to Our Lady. At the same time, he speaks with striking seriousness about sin, the sacraments, and the reality of the devil.
The book restores balance. It reminds us that the devil is real — but defeated. That spiritual warfare is serious — but not dramatic when one lives in grace. That the Rosary, confession, praise, and the Eucharist are not pious extras, but real weapons. Fr. Amorth’s life shows that holiness, humility, and Marian consecration are more powerful than any exorcism formula. The devil is not afraid of noise. He is afraid of saints.
Prodigal Catholic 
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