Archdiocese of Washington Removes Chief Exorcist After Linking UFOs to Demonic Activity

Monsignor Stephen J. Rossetti, a well-known Catholic exorcist, psychologist, and author, has been removed from his role as chief exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington following public comments suggesting that many UFO sightings are demonic in origin. On June 3, 2026, Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, issued an official press release announcing the decision. Rossetti, a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, New York, was relieved of his duties as an exorcist for the archdiocese. The archdiocese also ended all affiliation with the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, the nonprofit organization led by Rossetti in Washington, D.C.

In Catholic terms, “removed as an exorcist” means Rossetti is no longer officially appointed or authorized by the Archdiocese of Washington to perform exorcisms or deliverance ministry on its behalf. The archdiocese has also severed all institutional ties with the St. Michael Center.

The specific content the archdiocese found problematic is contained in the two videos Rossetti posted at the end of May 2026. The first is a short viral clip that shows Rossetti speaking directly to camera in a split-screen format with a grey alien image, calmly explaining his belief that many UFO sightings are demonic.

The second is a longer 5-minute-27-second video. In it he stated (among other things): “I wanted to chat with you for a moment about something which is very much in the news today and on people’s minds. That’s the whole thing about UFOs and life on other planets. Could there be? Sure, there could be. We don’t know. The Church has said there’s nothing incompatible with faith about believing that there’s life on other planets. So sure, you could believe that and be a good Catholic. I personally don’t think there is, but there’s danger here. As an exorcist I wanted to raise the danger of it. Demons like to hide. They do not want us to know what they’re doing because they’re more effective when we don’t realize it. They can kind of get into your head, you know, and manipulate things in the world to influence us to do evil. The scriptures are very clear: ‘For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, powers, and rulers of this present darkness and evil spirits.’ So put on the armor of God. Demons indeed can break into the physical world and at times they can be seen. We actually have some photos of such things that we have documented. Sometimes people will see shadow men, possessed houses, globes of light, and more direct manifestations — actually, images of beast-like creatures. So at times demons will be manifest in this world. I had an incident not too long ago where someone who has a particular gift — and we’ve documented that gift — she was shown a picture of a UFO and she said, ‘It’s a demon.’

There is no question in my mind personally — again this is not de fide — but my personal belief that probably many if not most of these UFO sightings are in fact demons and they can do things that we can’t do, such as the speed and all sorts of things that human beings can’t do. The reason why this is important is because they will try to manipulate us again, as I said, behind the scenes.”

Rossetti then recounted a case of a woman communicating with what she believed was her deceased grandmother via automatic writing. The messages started lovingly but turned ugly after six months, revealing it was a demon. He continued: “I think that’s true of many people who are engaged with mediums. That’s why the Church says don’t do it. Don’t engage with mediums. You think you’re engaging with some beautiful deceased relative and probably it’s demons masquerading as human or other people.

How they say, ‘Well we have a friendly ghost’ — no we don’t. Don’t interact with friendly ghosts. Don’t have friendly ghosts or UFOs or mediums or all this sort of thing connect us with the dark world.

The Bible and Church consistently warn us against this. Remember our fight is against principalities, powers, even evil spirits, Satan and his minions. But in the end we trust God. Stay in the boat. Follow the rules. They are there to keep you safe. Trust Jesus. Have a great joy. Our eyes are fixed in heaven. So don’t worry about the UFO stuff and other friendly ghosts and aliens. Don’t be fooled. Focus your eyes on Jesus. Trust in him. He’ll bring you safely home.”

Monsignor Rossetti was ordained in 1984 for the Diocese of Syracuse. He served as an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington for approximately 18 to 19 years, during which he conducted hundreds of exorcisms and deliverance sessions. He is a licensed psychologist and research associate professor, as well as the founder and president of the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal. He is the author of the book Diary of an American Exorcist: Demons, Possession, and the Modern-Day Battle Against Ancient Evil published in 2021.

Rossetti’s accounts of demons breaking through into the physical world as lights, shadows, globes, and deceptive high-speed entities align with concepts of dimensional blending. This framework views reality as layered frequencies and timelines where boundaries can weaken, allowing overlaps between dimensions. Such blending may manifest as unexplained entities appearing and vanishing, glowing spheres, impossible aerial maneuvers, shadow figures, missing time, and synchronicities — phenomena often interpreted through spiritual lenses as interactions with interdimensional intelligences, guardian forces, or deceptive principalities. In this view, UFOs and related encounters are not always visitors from distant planets but expressions of realities bleeding together, with consciousness acting as a receiver that can tune into these adjacent realms.

Rossetti’s warnings about manipulative entities masquerading as benign forces parallel descriptions of intruder agendas versus protective alliances operating across dimensional bands, highlighting shared themes of spiritual discernment amid thinning veils between worlds. Rossetti’s descriptions of demons manifesting as lights, shadows, globes, beast-like creatures, and deceptive high-speed entities parallel recent military UAP footage featured in Jeremy Corbell’s documentary Sleeping Dog. Among the eight unreleased clips, the ANAMORPHIS UAP stands out as a hovering, billowing, blob-like object captured on infrared and radar that morphs fluidly and briefly forms a humanoid warrior-like silhouette — an image widely compared online to traditional depictions of Archangel Michael, the biblical commander of heavenly armies who battles the dragon and forces of darkness.

Other clips show vividly colored orbs, synchronized triangle formations, wriggling cigar-shaped objects performing impossible maneuvers, and sharp-angle turns near aircraft, all exhibiting no conventional propulsion. These military-documented anomalies fuel speculation about whether such phenomena represent interdimensional intelligences, advanced technology, or spiritual entities that echo Rossetti’s warnings of principalities breaking into the physical realm. The juxtaposition of a possible angelic guardian silhouette amid deceptive or high-strangeness objects underscores broader tensions between protective divine forces and potentially malevolent deceptions in the skies.

Rossetti’s emphasis on discernment between deceptive entities and true divine presence resonates with accounts of positive multidimensional spiritual encounters, such as those described by child-prodigy artist Akiane Kramarik. Her well-known painting Prince of Peace, inspired by recurring heavenly visions of Jesus since early childhood, draws directly from the biblical prophecy in Isaiah 9:6 naming the Messiah as “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Kramarik’s reported “disappearance to heaven” at age five — during which her body became undetectable to extensive search efforts while she experienced expanded consciousness across millions of dimensions, remaining aware yet invisible — illustrates a contrasting benevolent framework of divine revelation, love, and expanded awareness.

These narratives highlight the broader spiritual landscape in unidentified phenomena discussions: the need to distinguish between deceptive principalities that Rossetti warns against and protective or heavenly encounters rooted in faith, purpose, and the ultimate call to fix one’s eyes on Christ as the true source of peace. Rossetti’s descriptions of demons that hide inside the mind, masquerade as internal thoughts or friendly contacts, manipulate emotions, and feed on negativity find strong parallels in psychotherapist Jerry Marzinsky’s 35-year clinical investigation into parasitic entities. Working extensively with schizophrenic patients, Marzinsky concluded that the voices they hear are not mere hallucinations or biochemical imbalances but communications from real, conscious, non-physical parasitic beings — often described as interdimensional demons or archons — that deliberately provoke fear, isolation, self-harm, and despair to harvest negative emotional energy known as “loosh.”

Like Rossetti’s cases, these entities deceive by claiming “We are you,” react with hostility when identified or challenged by spiritual authority (such as Psalms 23 and 91), and lose power through awareness and rejection.

Both perspectives emphasize that these forces thrive in secrecy and deception, whether manifesting through UFO encounters, mediumship, or intrusive thoughts, underscoring a shared view of spiritual warfare against hidden intelligences that exploit human vulnerabilities. Rossetti’s focus on spiritual warfare and the need for discernment within a structured cosmic order finds further resonance in esoteric traditions surrounding Archangel Metatron, often portrayed as a celestial scribe and guardian of the Akashic Records — a living, holographic, multidimensional archive that preserves every action, choice, and energetic imprint across probable timelines and layers of reality. Said to have originated as the biblical Enoch, transformed into a higher-dimensional being, Metatron functions as both recorder and architect of structure, linked to sacred geometry such as Metatron’s Cube, which encodes fundamental forms underlying matter and energy. In these frameworks, he operates in higher frequency layers beyond ordinary perception, maintaining coherence between lived experience and eternal record.

This contrasts with warrior archetypes like Archangel Michael (already referenced in military UAP interpretations) and complements Rossetti’s calls to focus on Christ amid deceptive principalities, highlighting broader themes of ordered reality, hidden observation by non-human intelligences, and the importance of distinguishing benevolent higher-order functions from manipulative entities seeking to disrupt or exploit the system.

Rossetti’s cautionary perspective on deceptive higher intelligences that masquerade as benign or divine also intersects with historical accounts of personal spiritual seeking blended with reported non-human contact, such as those involving Elvis Presley. Through his long-time metaphysical mentor Larry Geller, Elvis pursued an eclectic spiritual path while remaining rooted in Christianity, experiencing profound visions (including a desert cloud formation transforming from Stalin to Christ), telepathic guidance, premonitions, and multiple UFO sightings during desert drives and reportedly over Graceland. These encounters were interpreted by Elvis not as separate from his faith but as part of a broader quest for higher truth, with inner voices and aerial phenomena sometimes reexamined today through modern lenses of interdimensional intelligence or consciousness-based contact.

Such stories illustrate the ongoing cultural tension between positive or transformative “higher contact” experiences and warnings — like Rossetti’s — about the potential for deception by entities that exploit spiritual openness. Rossetti’s repeated emphasis on demons operating through hidden mental influence — planting intrusive thoughts, magnifying insecurity, and weaponizing emotional vulnerabilities — aligns closely with explorations of the hidden war for human thought.

In this framework, shame functions as one of the most potent corrosive tools: an intense, global self-attack that poisons core identity (“I am defective”) rather than simple guilt (“I did wrong”), often triggered or amplified by external suggestion. Ancient traditions portray negative entities as subtle accusers and tempters that exploit shame, doubt, and moral compromise to erode agency, much like Rossetti’s accounts of deceptive contacts that begin benignly but later reveal malice. These forces thrive on secrecy and the absence of internal resistance, finding easy entry through unresolved vulnerabilities while those detached from shame or guilt (as illustrated in certain high-profile psychological profiles) can operate unbound by such constraints.

The battlefield is ultimately the interior landscape of thoughts and emotions, where discernment, spiritual authority, and rejection of intrusive influences become essential defenses against both non-human intelligences and human actors who mirror the same manipulative dynamics. Rossetti’s descriptions of demons manifesting through physical signs such as globes of light and unusual sensory experiences find a contrasting interpretation in reports of widespread symptoms including unexplained fatigue, brief flashes of light behind closed eyes, and high-pitched ringing in the ears.

In certain New Age and channeling, particularly Pleiadian transmissions, these phenomena are framed not as demonic intrusion but as positive indicators of planetary energetic recalibration and ascension — signs of the body integrating higher “light” frequencies, activating inner perception (third-eye or clairvoyant awakening), and attuning to elevated vibrational downloads. Fatigue is viewed as sacred exhaustion from cellular upgrades, flashes of light as evidence of expanding inner soul light or spiritual attunement, and ear ringing as auditory markers of frequency shifts or contact with higher-dimensional consciousness.

This optimistic lens ties such symptoms to surges in UFO sightings and collective consciousness expansion, presenting them as part of a benevolent evolutionary transition rather than the deceptive spiritual warfare Rossetti warns against.

The divergence underscores a central tension in unidentified phenomena discussions: whether these sensory and energetic experiences represent malevolent entities breaking into our realm or beneficial waves supporting multidimensional awakening. A widely circulated example of intense demonic manifestation is the unedited audio recordings of the 67 exorcism sessions performed on Anneliese Michel between 1975 and 1976. This audio-only video presents the raw German-language tapes from the sessions; listeners hear multiple distinct demonic voices claiming to be Cain, Judas Iscariot, Hitler, Nero, and Lucifer, accompanied by guttural growls, screams, and violent physical reactions. Michel ultimately died from malnutrition and dehydration in 1976.

Popular compilations such as “Real-life Exorcism Tapes: Scariest Possessions Ever Filmed!” further illustrate the range of reported cases circulating online. The nearly 41-minute video assembles several alleged exorcism clips, most notably the secretive “Keyhole Exorcism” filmed through a church door in the Czech Republic, along with intense deliverance sessions showing women and girls screaming, thrashing violently, exhibiting superhuman strength, hissing, and claiming demonic identity.

This development highlights ongoing tensions within the Catholic Church regarding the intersection of modern paranormal phenomena such as UFOs and UAPs and traditional spiritual warfare teachings. While the Church has long addressed demonic activity through exorcism rites, public speculation tying aerial phenomena directly to demons has drawn official rebuke in this case.

Rossetti remains a priest in good standing of the Diocese of Syracuse and can continue private ministry and writing outside his former archdiocesan role. In a later statement, he said he was saddened by the decision and asked forgiveness if he had not been fully faithful to Church teaching. The St. Michael Center plans to continue its ministry independently.