FILM · 2023 · UK
The Pope's Exorcist
14 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
14 Interesting Facts About The Pope's Exorcist
Interesting Facts (10)
- #001
Researching Fr. Gabriele Amorth's life and work, Russell Crowe learned that Amorth's favorite film was The Exorcist (1973); Amorth even became good friends with its director, William Friedkin, who later made The Devil and Father Amorth (2017), a documentary about his work as an exorcist. It was the second-to-last Friedkin film released in his lifetime before his death on August 7, 2023.
- #002
- #003
The round medal Father Gabriele uses is the back of the Saint Benedict medal. Above the cross is the word pax (peace), the Benedictine motto for centuries, and the letters V R S N S M V - S M Q L I V B around the edge are the initials of a Latin exorcism prayer against Satan: Vade retro Satana! Nunquam suade mihi vana! Sunt mala quae libas. Ipse venena bibas! (Begone, Satan! Never tempt me with your vanities! What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself!)
- #004
The emblem on the well that Father Esquibel says stands for the Spanish Inquisition is actually the logo of the video game Dragon Age: Inquisition.
- #005
Principal photography ran from August to October 2022 in Dublin and Limerick, Ireland, and in Rome, with Crowe's scenes shot at Trinity College Dublin.
- #006
Franco Nero had earlier had a sizable role in a similar exorcism film, The Rite (2011), also written by Michael Petroni, but his scene was cut.
- #007
The devil here is called Asmodeus; in Jewish sacred texts he is Ashmedai, king of demons, who was held captive by King Solomon for a time before escaping back to his own realm.
- #008
At about 1 hour 14 minutes, as Rosaria's death is shown, the blood on the pavement around her forms the shape of two angel wings.
- #009
In April 2023 a sequel was announced as being in early development, with Russell Crowe expected to return; in May 2024 The Pope's Exorcist 2 got the green light, though no returning cast has been confirmed yet.
- #010
The film opens with this quote: "'When we mock the devil and tell ourselves he does not exist, that is when he is happiest.'---Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican's Chief Exorcist, 1986-2016".
Production Story (1)
- #011
The project began in 2020 when Screen Gems bought the rights to Amorth's story; after a change of director and rewrites, it was shot in Ireland from August to October 2022.
Characters & Cast (2)
- #012
To get to know his character better, Russell Crowe met Fr. Amorth's close friends, including someone who had assisted him at more than 150 exorcisms.
- #013
The pope, played by Franco Nero, is a fictionalized John Paul II, who was pope in 1987, when the story takes place.
Life & Family (1)
- #014
The pope complains that today's priests no longer believe the devil is real and mentions some 200 fallen angels cast out of heaven, a story from the Book of Enoch, which is also among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Enoch tells how 200 angels called the Watchers lusted after human women in the days of Jared (Noah's father) and came down to earth on Mount Hermon, where they had children with human women: the Nephilim, giant human-angel hybrids (the notorious Goliath was said to be one). The Book of Enoch tells the story in detail, while Genesis chapter 6 mentions it briefly as a prelude to Noah's flood.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
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