(

Ecclesiastical Latin Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian thought in Late Antiquity and used in Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration down to the present day, especially in the Cath ...

for "Go back,

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

" or "Step back, Satan", "Back off, Satan") is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Western Christian formula for

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 ...

, recorded in a 1415

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced i ...

found in the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Metten Abbey Metten Abbey, or St. Michael's Abbey at Metten (in German Abtei Metten or Kloster Metten) is a house of the Benedictine Order in Metten near Deggendorf, situated between the fringes of the Bavarian Forest and the valley of the Danube, in Bavari ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

; its origin is traditionally associated with the

Benedictines , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

. The initials of this formula (VRSNSMV SMQLIVB or VRS:NSMV:SMQL:IVB) have often been engraved around

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (La ...

es or Western Christian

Saint Benedict Medal The Saint Benedict Medal is a Christian sacramental medal containing symbols and text related to the life of Saint Benedict of Nursia, used by Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Western Orthodox, Anglicans and Methodists, in the Benedictine Christian ...

s at least since 1780.Ann Ball, 2003 ''Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices'' pages 350–351 The phrase (often spelled , or ) is also used as a witty or scholarly prose device, dissociated from its religious implications, to express strong rejection of an unacceptable (but possibly tempting) proposal, or dread of some looming menace. Namely, in the sense of "do not tempt me!", "I will have nothing to do with that", "will someone deliver us from that", and so on.

Text

The

text says: In approximate translation: :"May the Holy Cross be my light / May the dragon never be my guide :Begone Satan / Never tempt me with your vanities :What you offer me is evil / drink the poison yourself."

Origins and history

The verse ''VADE RETRO SATANA'' is similar to a phrase spoken by

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

to Peter in the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...

: ("

Get behind me, Satan "Get behind me, Satan", or "Go away, Satan", and in older translations such as the King James Version "Get thee behind me, Satan", is a saying of Jesus in the New Testament. It is first attested in , where Jesus is addressing Peter; this is retol ...

!"). The exact origin of the passage is not clear. It is found in an early thirteenth century legend of the

Devil's Bridge Devil's Bridge is a term applied to dozens of ancient bridges, found primarily in Europe. Most of these bridges are stone or masonry arch bridges and represent a significant technological achievement in ancient architecture. Due to their unus ...

Sens Sens () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a sub-prefecture and the second city of the department, the sixth in the region. It is crossed by the Yonne an ...

, wherein an architect sold his soul to the devil and then subsequently repented. M. le Curé of Sens, wearing his stole, exorcised the devil, driving him away with holy water and these words, which he made the penitent repeat. The passage came to general attention in 1647, when women who were prosecuted for

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

declared that they had been unable to do harm where there was a cross, and the St. Michael's Benedictine Abbey in Metten was particularly exempt from their influence.Martín de Elizalde, ''Revista Coloquio'', n. 4. Italian translation
La Croce di San Benedetto
("The Cross of St. Benedict") A search of the monastery turned up crosses painted on the walls with the formula's initials. The meaning of those letters remained a mystery for some time, until the complete verses were found in a manuscript dating to 1415 in the abbey's library,Manuscript Clm 8210,

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the big ...

next to an image of St. Benedict. The same formula was later found in an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n manuscript from 1340/50.Cod. Guelf. 35a Helmst. (Biblia pauperum, 14. Jh.), Wolfenbüttel Library
image 3 The manuscript depicts Satan offering a drinking cup to the Saint, who keeps him at bay with a long cross-topped staff carrying a red banner. Below the staff is a single line of text, and below it are six lines of verse, starting with "". Heinemann Nr 40 medieval manuscript detail

Heinemann Nr 40 medieval manuscript detail

The formula received the approval of

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

, and became part of the Roman Catholic ritual in 1742. The formula's popularity grew considerably in the 19th century, mainly due to the efforts of Leo Dupont. According to H. C. Lea (1896), "As a rule ... it suffices to wear

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

] Devout, devoutly, but, if some Intercession of saints, special favor is desired, it is advisable on a Tuesday to say five Glorias, three

Aves Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

and then three more Glorias to secure the protection of St. Benedict."Lea, Henry Charles (1896) ''A History of Auricular Confession and Indulgences in the Latin Church; Volume III: Indulgences.'' Philadelphia: Lea Brothers & Co. Reprinted 2002, Adamant Media Corp. The remains part of the Roman Catholic ritual following the 20th-century revision of the ritual and its final promulgation in 1999 via . Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2003

References

Notes

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vade Retro Satana Benedictines Amulets Exorcism in the Catholic Church Latin religious words and phrases Incantation

Text

Origins and history

See also

References

Notes

Citations