Archdiocese of Washington ends all affiliation with chief exorcist, Syracuse Diocese priest Monsignor Stephen Rossetti 

Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, was removed as an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Washington on June 3. Cardinal Robert McElroy also ended all affiliation between the archdiocese and the Saint Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, of which Monsignor is the founder and president. The Center is located in Washington, D.C. 

Bishop Douglas J. Lucia was informed of his removal the following day. 

Reasons cited were statements made by Monsignor Rossetti linking UFOs to demonic presence, as well as the belief that the Center’s recent use of social media gravely undermines the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons, and exorcism. The Diocese of Syracuse has no other information at this time. 

Msgr. Rossetti was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Syracuse in June 1984 and has served outside the diocese in specialized roles since 1989.  He had served as an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Washington at the St. Michael’s Center since 2019.

Msgr. Rossetti graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1973 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the USAF. He received an M.A. degree in political science from the University of Pittsburgh and served in Air Force intelligence. In 1980, he entered the seminary, Theological College, at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Doctor of Ministry.

Msgr. Rossetti has served as a prolific author, educator, licensed psychologist, and expert on psychological and spiritual wellness issues for Catholic priests around the world. He remains a priest in good standing in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse.