The Vatican’s Secret World of Paranormal Investigations

Behind the ancient walls of the Vatican, a secretive team of priests and doctors investigates claims of miracles and demonic possessions, where science ends and the truly unexplainable begins.

The ancient halls of the Vatican hold many secrets. Behind its ornate doors and beneath its sacred chambers, a different kind of investigation takes place — one that deals with forces beyond our understanding. While many see the Catholic Church as simply a religious institution, few know about its dedicated teams who investigate the paranormal with deadly seriousness.

When the Church Meets the Unexplained

The shadows grew longer as Father Antonio made his way down the dim corridor. The case file in his hands contained photos, medical reports, and witness statements — not for a crime, but for something far more unsettling. He was part of a select group within the Vatican tasked with determining whether a woman in Milan had truly been miraculously healed of terminal cancer or if science could explain her sudden recovery.

This wasn’t uncommon. Each year, the Vatican handles thousands of paranormal cases. Some involve potential miracles needed to declare someone a saint. Others involve something darker — cases of possible demonic possession that require the ancient ritual of exorcism.

When investigating these claims, the Vatican doesn’t rely on superstition or blind faith. They employ teams of doctors, scientists, and specially trained priests who approach each case with skepticism first. Their goal isn’t to prove the supernatural exists, but to exhaust every natural explanation before considering divine or demonic intervention.

Hunting for Miracles

The morning light filtered through stained glass windows as the Congregation for the Causes of Saints gathered in their meeting room. On the table before them lay medical files, testimonies, and scientific reports about a blind man who claimed to have regained his sight after praying to a deceased nun from the 1800s.

This special office within the Vatican has the solemn responsibility of investigating paranormal activity — specifically miracles — involved in applications for sainthood. If they can prove a miracle occurred through a particular person’s intercession, that individual moves one step closer to being declared a saint.

The process begins when someone dies with a reputation for exceptional holiness. Typically, bishops must wait five years before opening a case, though exceptions have been made. Mother Teresa’s investigation, for example, began just two years after her death when Pope John Paul II granted special permission.

The path to verifying a miracle is rigorous and methodical. First, the Congregation evaluates whether the person who allegedly performed the miracle was virtuous enough to have done so. They gather evidence that the individual was exceedingly holy and that people have been drawn to prayer through their example. If the Congregation rules the person was indeed a “servant of God,” the case moves to the Pope, who can beatify candidates for sainthood.

But having a great moral compass isn’t enough to prove someone performed a miracle. The Church has strict requirements. Miracles, especially those involving medical healing, must be:

Instantaneous or sudden
Complete and permanent
Without scientific explanation

For example, if someone claims to have miraculously cured cancer, that cancer cannot return years later. All of these qualifications must be proven beyond doubt.

The Medical Detectives

Dr. Isabella Rossi adjusted her glasses as she examined the brain scans. As one of the hundred physicians on the Consulta Medica — a board established by the Vatican in the mid-1900s — she was responsible for determining whether a reported healing had any possible medical explanation.

For medical miracles, which make up over 95% of modern cases according to experts, the investigation becomes even more intensive. After the Congregation rules a person virtuous enough to have performed a miracle, the case goes to the Consulta Medica. These renowned Italian, Catholic physicians review everything from CT scans and X-rays to detailed medical reports.

A panel of five Consulta Medica doctors examines each case. If three out of the five agree the healing wasn’t performed by science but rather by divine intervention, the case advances to a panel of priests and cardinals.

Michael O’Neill, who runs MiracleHunter.com, estimates an even higher percentage of medical miracles — 99.9% of all cases investigated by the Vatican. “They need to be spontaneous, instantaneous, and complete healing,” he explained. “Doctors have to say, ‘We don’t have any natural explanation of what happened.’”

For cases where a reported medical miracle happened because someone prayed to a saintly candidate after their death, the prayer itself becomes part of the investigation. If the Consulta Medica can’t produce a scientific explanation, the case moves to a panel of cardinals and priests who look for evidence of healing prayer.

This miraculous healing in response to prayer is seen as proof the potential saint is in heaven with God. If satisfied, the Pope can beatify the applicant — the final step before canonization (being officially declared a saint). Most sainthood applicants need two verified miracles to be canonized, unless they were martyrs. In cases of martyrdom, the Pope may simply declare sainthood.

Confronting Darkness

The room was cold despite the summer heat outside. Father Marco’s breath fogged slightly as he approached the teenage boy strapped to the bed. The boy’s parents watched anxiously from the corner as a team of doctors finished their evaluation. The boy had been speaking languages he’d never studied, displaying impossible strength, and reacting violently to religious objects. Was it mental illness — or something more sinister?

To understand how the Vatican investigates and handles exorcism, it’s important to know there are two kinds: minor and major. Minor exorcisms have nothing to do with demonic possession and are actually quite common. In fact, every baptized Catholic has undergone a minor exorcism as part of their baptism. These focus on protection, not possession. According to The Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Since Baptism signifies liberation from sin and from its instigator the devil, one or more exorcisms are pronounced over the [baptismal] candidate.”

Major exorcisms are what horror movies have trained us to expect — the dramatic confrontation between priest and demon over a possessed person. However, according to Father Lampert, an experienced exorcist, true demonic possession is exceedingly rare. Only one in 5,000 cases is ruled full demonic possession. Milder encounters with paranormal entities are far more common.

A demonic attachment happens when a demon attaches itself to someone but doesn’t take full possession. This often goes unnoticed because the person only experiences symptoms (like unexplained illness) when near a holy place. There’s no speaking in tongues or dramatic manifestations.

Demonic oppression occurs when the influence of a demon causes someone to feel depressed and drained of energy without being clinically depressed.

The Possession Protocol

The Vatican is just as strict about verifying demonic possession as it is about miracles. Every potential exorcism candidate undergoes thorough investigation to prove genuine possession. In 1999, the Vatican revised its guidelines for determining whether a person is demonically possessed or mentally ill. Now, priests must consult mental health professionals before performing exorcisms.

If doctors rule out mental illness, priests look for specific symptoms of demonic possession. These include:

Speaking in foreign languages previously unknown to the victim
Displaying superhuman strength
Having knowledge of things they couldn’t possibly know, such as personal information about the investigating priests

Speaking in foreign tongues can sometimes be attributed to Foreign Accent Syndrome, though it’s an incredibly rare condition. The truly possessed, according to the Church, display knowledge they shouldn’t have access to.

Father Cipriano de Meo, who has been an exorcist since 1952, says truly possessed individuals can be identified by their response to prolonged prayer sessions. “A possessed person has various general attitudes toward an exorcist, who is seen by the Adversary as an enemy ready to fight him,” he explained. “There’s no lack of frightening facial expressions, threatening words or gestures, but especially blasphemies against God and Our Lady.”

Only the bishop of the diocese where the potential possession takes place can grant permission for an exorcism. The bishop examines all medical information and symptoms. If he believes the person is truly possessed rather than mentally ill, he will authorize a priest to perform an exorcism — but not just any priest. The chosen exorcist must be specifically known for his holiness, being wiser and more devout than average priests. Extensive training is also required.

The Vatican demands exorcists be highly trained because demonic possession is both easy to fake and difficult to verify. History has seen cases where certain priests exploited alleged victims, or where unrecognized mental illnesses were mistaken for possession, keeping victims from getting proper medical help.

Priests who become exorcists undergo an apprenticeship, working under experienced exorcists who have been granted teaching permission by bishops. Yes, there are actually exorcism workshops where priests learn the ancient rituals and safeguards needed to confront what they believe are demonic forces.

The Thin Veil Between Worlds

As the sun sets behind St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican’s paranormal investigators continue their work in the shadows. Whether examining potential miracles or determining if an exorcism is needed, they approach each case with a combination of faith and science.

To the outside world, these investigations might seem bizarre or outdated. Yet for the Vatican, the paranormal is neither fiction nor fantasy — it’s a reality that requires careful, methodical investigation. It’s a world where science and faith intersect, where doctors and priests work side by side to determine whether what they’re witnessing defies natural explanation.

And perhaps the most unsettling thought of all: what if some of those possession stories that inspired movies like The Exorcist or The Conjuring weren’t just creative fiction? What if, as the Vatican’s careful investigations suggest, there really is more to our world than what science alone can explain — forces beyond our understanding that occasionally break through the thin veil that separates our world from others?

The Vatican’s paranormal investigators don’t seek to prove these forces exist. Their job is simply to rule out every possible natural explanation first. And sometimes, in those rare cases when science has no answers, they’re left facing something that defies explanation — something that might just be truly paranormal.

Some time back I recorded and episode of the Church of the Undead which covered demons and how to protect yourselves from them – you can find it at WeirdDarkness.com by searching for “The Dangers of Demons”.