The Pope's chief exorcist 'who banished 70,000 demons' and said Vatican was possessed by devil dies aged 91

 Father Gabriele Amorth has died at the age of 91   Photo:Getty

Tributes have been paid to the Catholic Church 's leading exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, who died on Friday at the age of 91.

The Pope's chief exorcist, who once said the Vatican is possessed by the devil, claimed to have carried out an incredible 70,000 'exorcisms' over his 30-year career.

Father Amorth also claimed Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin were both possessed, saying: "The Devil is invisible. But in the people he possesses he can be seen through pain and blasphemies.

"Sometimes he makes fun of me, but I have to say I enjoy my work."

He was also ridiculed for saying that yoga was evil and Harry Potter promoted black magic.

He added that a string of child sex abuse scandals which rocked the Catholic Church were proof Satan is living among religious leaders.

The inspiration for spirit-busting priests in hit movies such as The Exorcist said: "The Devil lives in the Vatican. He has won over the confidences of people.

"The consequences are visible. We have cardinals who don't believe in Christ, bishops connected with demons. We have these stories of paedophilia."

The Italian priest said reading Harry Potter "opens children's minds to dabbling with the occult and black magic".

Describing a meeting with him in 2005, journalist Francesco Casadei, 52, said he "lost control and started to kick and scream” adding that after four months of sessions the devil left him.

In a Times obituary, he is quoted as saying: “During the exorcisms Father Amorth was a ferocious beast, but afterwards he turned back into a mild-mannered man who liked a joke.”

Another person to have been at the receiving end of his exorcisms corroborated that he was funny man.

The man, known only as Alberto, said: “Father Amorth would say, ‘You know why the devil flees when he sees me? Because I’m uglier than he is’.”