Poland to open first ever exorcism centre

Dec 18, 2007, 18:00 GMT

Warsaw - Poland is planning to open its first ever exorcism centre near the German border, Dziennik newspaper reported Tuesday.

A Catholic priest plans to open the centre for people believed to be possessed by the Devil in Poczernin, 30 kilometres to the east of the Baltic city of Szczeczin.

The Catholic Church authorized the project in recent weeks, the report said.

The priest, Andrzej Trojanowski, has been working as an academic chaplain in Szczeczin for the past five years.

He is believed to have dealt with some 20 people a week in his rectory.

Poles from Germany have also turned to him as Germany has had no exorcists for 30 years, the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper reported.

The newspaper reports said that a psychiatrist works with the priest.

The exorcism centre is expected to have a chapel and guest rooms and it is expected to be built near the edge of the forest. It plans to offer spiritual help to the needy, the reports said.

Gazeta Wybrocza said that there were currently 50 exorcists working in Poland.