Clara Germana Cele (c. 1890–1912) was a South African Christian girl, who in 1906, was said to be possessed by a demon.

Possession & Death

She is said to have been possessed when she was a sixteen-year-old school girl at St. Michael's Mission in Natal, South Africa. The girl was an

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

of African origin and was

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

as an

infant An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

. At the age of sixteen, the girl allegedly made a pact with Satan and this is said to be the cause of her demonic possession. Clara later revealed this information to her

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death. In an account written by a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

, Clara was said to be able to speak languages of which she had no previous knowledge. This fact was also witnessed by others, who recorded that she "understood Polish,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

and all other languages." The nun reported that Clara demonstrated

clairvoyance Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

by revealing the most intimate secrets and transgressions of people with whom she had no contact. Moreover, Clara could not bear the presence of blessed objects and seemed imbued with extraordinary strength and ferocity, often hurling nuns about the convent rooms and beating them up. The nun reported that the girl's cries had a savage bestiality that astonished those around her. In regards to the girl's voice, an

attending In the United States and Canada, an attending physician (also known as a staff physician or supervising physician) is a physician (usually an M.D. or D.O.) who has completed residency and practices medicine in a clinic or hospital, in the spe ...

nun even wrote:

No animal had ever made such sounds. Neither the lions of East Africa nor the angry bulls. At times, it sounded like a veritable herd of wild beasts orchestrated by Satan had formed a hellish choir.
Attending In the United States and Canada, an attending physician (also known as a staff physician or supervising physician) is a physician (usually an M.D. or D.O.) who has completed residency and practices medicine in a clinic or hospital, in the spe ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
of St. Michael's Mission, Natal, South Africa

The girl, according to some, was said to have levitated five feet in the air, sometimes vertically and sometimes horizontally; when sprinkled with

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

, the girl is reported to have come out of this state of her satanic possession. According to a ''

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

Pastoral Handbook'', one possessing these symptoms is an indication that an individual is truly possessed, rather than suffering from a

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

. Consequently, two

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priests 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 ...

, Rev. Mansueti (Director of the St. Michael's Mission) and Rev. Erasmus (her confessor), were appointed to perform an

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

on Clara Germana Cele; this

deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapt ...

lasted for two days. During the exorcism, Clara's first action was to knock the

Holy Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

from the priest's hands and grab his stole in an attempt to choke him with it. At the end of the exorcism, it was said that the

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in Media (communication), media such as comics, video ...

was forced out and the girl was healed. For six years, Clara lived a demonic possession-free life. She felt ashamed for her behavior, asking for forgiveness while seeking humble pursuits. She died in 1912 from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

, at age 22. However, history had lost track of and forgotten Clara in some versions of her story.

References

External links

Un Pacte Avec Satan:
an account of Clara Germana Cele {{DEFAULTSORT:Germana, Clara 1890s births 1912 deaths 20th-century South African people 20th-century South African women Exorcised people Demonic possession

Possession & Death

See also

References

Further reading

External links