Letter from Father Joseph Stieger about the exorcism of Anna Ecklund

Letter from Father Joseph Stieger about the exorcism of Anna Ecklund
 
This letter is not merely correspondence—it is a ritual artifact. Dated shortly before one of the most disturbing and well-documented exorcisms of the 20th century, it was written by Father Joseph Stieger, close confidant and collaborator of Father Theophilus Riesinger. Addressed to a Franciscan nun at the convent in Earling, Iowa, the letter respectfully requests permission to conduct the exorcism of Anna Ecklund—born Emma Schmidt—within the convent’s sacred walls, shielded from public scrutiny and anchored in consecrated space.
The tone is solemn, deliberate, and aware. What was to unfold would defy ordinary categories of suffering. The exorcism, which lasted 23 days between August 18 and September 23, 1928, became a defining moment in American Christian mysticism. Witnesses reported phenomena that challenged theological, psychological, and physical explanation: levitation, xenoglossy, violent resistance to sacred objects, and manifestations of multiple entities, including the alleged presence of Lucifer.
The convent itself bore the imprint of the event for years. Nuns who witnessed the ordeal spoke of spiritual exhaustion and lingering unease. The case would later be cited in theological studies, paranormal literature, and cultural retellings, often with conflicting interpretations—but this letter remains a rare and grounded artifact from the moment before myth took hold.
This letter is not a request—it is a threshold. It marks the moment when ritual preparation met metaphysical dread. I regard it as a document of spiritual logistics, where faith, fear, and formality converged. To preserve it is to honor the architecture of belief under siege, and the quiet courage of those who stood at the edge of the inexplicable.
 
Doktor Lazarus Archaeologist, Historian, Collector, Independent Curator