Father Edward Albert Hughes (August 28, 1918 - October 12, 1980) was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

who served as an assistant pastor from June 16, 1948 to June 18, 1960 at St. James Church in Mt. Rainier,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. He was best known for his participation in the Exorcism of Roland Doe.

Life

Hughes participated in an exorcism in 1949 at the

Georgetown University Hospital MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is one of the Washington, D.C. area's oldest academic teaching hospitals. It is a not-for-profit, acute care teaching and research facility located in the Georgetown neighborhood of the Northwest Quadrant ...

on an anonymous thirteen-year-old boy, where he was allegedly injured when the boy broke out of his restraints.

William Peter Blatty William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel ''The Exorcist (novel), The Exorcist'' and for his screenplay for The Exorcist, the 1973 film adaptat ...

was inspired by a newspaper article about this case to write his novel ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...

''.Los Angeles Times, "Metamorphosis of 'The Exorcist'," Robert R. Kirsch, July 29, 1974, page E8. In 1973, Father Hughes returned to St. James Church and later became pastor at St Matthias until his death of a heart attack on October 12, 1980.

References

Catholic exorcists 1918 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests American exorcists {{RC-clergy-stub