William S. Bowdern (February 13, 1897 - April 25, 1983) was a Catholic

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 ...

of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the author of ''The Problems of Courtship and Marriage'' printed by ''

Our Sunday Visitor Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) is a Catholic publishing company in Huntington, Indiana, which prints the American national weekly newspaper of that name, as well as numerous Catholic periodicals, religious books, pamphlets, catechetical materials, i ...

'' in 1939. He was a graduate of and taught at

St. Louis University High School St. Louis University High School (SLUH) is a Jesuit Catholic high school for boys. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest secondary educational institution in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River, and one of the largest private high schools in Miss ...

; he also taught at St. Louis University. Bowdern participated in an exorcism of Roland Doe in 1949. The incident became the basis of William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...

''.

Exorcism

In 1949, Bowdern was assisted in the exorcism of an anonymously named boy by fellow Jesuit priest Walter Halloran. Author William Peter Blatty contacted Bowdern as part of his research for his novel ''The Exorcist''. In a 2000 TV movie titled ''

Possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

'', Bowdern was played by

Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. Beginning his career on stage, he made his film debut as Philip II of France in the 1968 historical drama ''The Lion in Winter''. He gained international prominence as ...

References

External links

Interview in which Father Bowdern is mentioned.Interview with Father Halloran (2000).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowdern, William S. 1897 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American Jesuits American exorcists Catholic exorcists Saint Louis University faculty