Rufus Pereira (5 May 1933 – 2 May 2012) 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 ...

, author of publications on spiritual life, Doctor of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person ...

Biography

Born in

Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa is a coastal suburb located in Mumbai, the largest city of the Konkan division in Maharashtra, India. The area is located to the immediate north of the River Mithi, which separates Bandra from the Mumbai City district. It ...

, a suburb of

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India, he was ordained a priest in 1956. He received his doctorate in Biblical Theology from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome. After returning to India, he worked as a high school principal in Mumbai. Since 1972 he was associated with the Catholic Movement for Renewal in the Holy Spirit. He published a monthly magazine devoted to the Catholic charismatic renewal in India. From 1994 he was the vice-president of the

International Association of Exorcists International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, serving under president

Gabriele Amorth Gabriele Amorth (; 1 May 1925 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian Catholic priest of the Paulines and an exorcist for the Diocese of Rome. Amorth, along with five other priests, founded the International Association of Exorcists. His wo ...

. In 1995 he initiated the International Association for the Ministry of Deliverance. From 1997, as the successor of Emiliano Tardif, he was a member of the International Catholic Charismatic Council for Renewal.

Preaching career

The priest travelled to Europe and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

many times, preaching retreats. In the latter, he was a frequent preacher at

Canção Nova The Canção Nova (English: ''New Song'') is a Brazilian Catholic community founded by Monsignor Jonas Abib in 1978, following the lines of Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Headquartered in the city of Cachoeira Paulista (SP), it occupies an area ...

, in the municipality of

Cachoeira Paulista Cachoeira Paulista is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte, in the Guaratinguetá Microregion. It is located at latitude 22º39'54 "south and longitude 45º ...

, state of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. He was known for his phrase:

''"The
devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
hates me!"''

Death

He died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 2012 due to a heart stroke.

Books

In Portuguese * ''Who is Jesus?'' * ''Jesus: a Master within reach of all'' * ''The key to healing'' * ''Steps to healing'' * ''I bring you improvement and healing''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira, Rufus 1933 births 2012 deaths Catholic exorcists 20th-century Indian Roman Catholic priests Christian clergy from Mumbai Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity