The Loudun possessions were a group of supposed demonic possessions which took place in Loudun, France, in 1634. This case involved the Ursuline nuns of Loudun who were allegedly visited and possessed by demons:
In 1632, Sister Jeanne Agnes and sixteen nuns of the Ursuline convents, allegedly possessed by demons, threw convulsions and used abusive language. Father Jean-Joseph Surin exorcised the demons by inviting them into his body. He lost mental balance as a result. He inflicted injuries on himself and attempted suicide. Describing the plight, he said that he was unable to understand what happened to him when the unknown spirit entered his body. He got the feeling that he had two souls and that the alien soul constituted a second personality.Father Urbain Grandier was convicted of the crimes of sorcery, evil spells, and the possessions visited upon the Ursuline nuns, based on the words of possessed nuns. Until the Aix-en-Provence possessions of 1611, the words of the possessed nuns would not have been considered valid evidence.
Read more about Loudun Possessions: Early Trials and Conspiracy, Public Exorcisms At Loudun, Torture At Loudun, Burning At Loudun, Demonology, Modern Notes, Media
Famous quotes containing the word possessions:
“Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.””
—Bible: Hebrew, Job 1:9-11.
Satan to God.