Father Angelo Fantoni (May 2, 1903 – August 28, 1992) was an Italian
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
and
exorcist
In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...
who worked at
Monte San Savino
Monte San Savino is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany (Italy). It is located on the Essa stream in the Valdichiana. Several of its frazioni occupy higher hills, like Gargonza at and Palazzuolo, at an elevation of .
History
M ...
near
Arezzo, Italy
Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level ...
.
He was born in Italy to Pietro Annunziata (Cipriani) Fantoni. He entered college at the age of seventeen in 1920 and was ordained a priest on March 18, 1930.
Father Fantoni became a noted faith healer but this ended up causing problems in Arezzo when the medical doctors collectively denounced him as a fraud because he healed without using medicine. Father Fantoni was to be imprisoned for a year and pay a 300,000 lire fine. However, when the verdict was appealed he was acquitted. The story is told in the 1999 book
Thanks, don Angelo!' by Franco Predieri.
His life and experiences as an exorcist are recorded in the book ''Don Angelo Fantoni: Testimonianze'' by Rita Buonomo.
He is mentioned in Father
Gabriele Amorth's book ''An Exorcist: More Stories''.
Sources
A Parish Priest to Remember
1903 births
1992 deaths
Catholic exorcists
20th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests
Italian exorcists
People from Monte San Savino
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