Former “Priest of Satan” Becomes Catholic Church’s Newest Saint

It sounds like something straight out of a horror movie — a Satanic priest who once made a pact with a demon is now officially a saint in the Catholic Church.

Earlier this month, more than 700,000 people packed St. Peter’s Square in Rome to witness Pope Leo XIV canonize seven new saints, including one who might have the wildest backstory in church history: Bartolo Longo, an ex-Satanist who completely turned his life around.

Born in 1841 in southern Italy, Longo was a lawyer who spiraled into occult practices after his father’s death. He reportedly became a Satanic priest, performing bizarre rituals, fasting to extremes, and even making what he believed was a pact with a demon.

Haunted by questions about life and death, he dabbled in séances and dark magic — until one night, he said he heard the voice of his dead father begging him, “Return to God!”

That chilling moment changed everything.

Terrified and seeking help, Longo turned to a friend, Professor Vincenzo Pepe, who convinced him to meet Father Alberto Radente, a Dominican priest. Under Radente’s guidance, Longo spent a month confessing, praying, and breaking away from Satanism.

He didn’t just repent — he made it his mission to expose the dangers of the occult. Longo started showing up at séances only to denounce them, holding up a rosary and declaring, “I renounce spiritualism; it is nothing but a web of lies and deception.”

Determined to prove that faith could rebuild even the darkest life, Longo took a vow of celibacy and threw himself into charitable work. He founded the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary in Pompeii, built orphanages and schools for the children of prisoners, and even volunteered at a hospital for the incurably ill.

By the time he died in 1926, the man once called the “Satanic priest of Pompeii” was beloved as a symbol of mercy and transformation.

On October 19, Pope Leo XIV officially declared Bartolo Longo a saint, alongside six others — including three nuns, a Venezuelan doctor known as the “physician of the poor,” and an archbishop killed during the Armenian genocide.

“Today we have before us seven witnesses, the new Saints, who, with God’s grace, kept the lamp of faith burning,” Pope Leo said during the ceremony. “May their example inspire us in our shared vocation to holiness.”

Longo’s canonization stands out as one of the most astonishing redemption stories in modern Catholic history — proof, the Vatican says, that no one is beyond saving.

As one Italian commentator put it, “If Bartolo Longo can become a saint, there’s hope for everyone.”