A perceived demonic possession in Saskatoon has caught the Catholic Church there off guard since it has no one trained to perform an exorcism.

The Saskatoon Archdiocese is investigating after a priest was called to a home in late March where a 41-year-old man had carved the word Hell on his chest and was talking in the third person, saying, “He belongs to me. Get out of here.”

Church officials told CBC the priest did his best to calm the man down, including blessing him, before the man was taken to Royal University Hospital for a voluntary assessment.

Bishop Don Bolen told CBC it was not clear if the Saskatoon man was possessed or experiencing a mental breakdown.

“I would think there are perhaps more stories about exorcisms in Hollywood than there are on the ground,” Bolen said. “But the Catholic Church teaches that there is a force of darkness, and that God is stronger than that darkness.”

According to the report, church leaders in Saskatoon have been considering whether the city needs a trained exorcist. The last person in the city with formal training, Rev. Joseph Bisztyo, who retired in 2003.

Bill Steinberg, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Toronto, told the Toronto Star Friday that every diocese is supposed to have a priest who is trained to perform exorcisms. The Archdiocese of Toronto has two, he said.

However, Steinberg was quick to add “there hasn’t been a major exorcism in the Archdiocese of Toronto in decades.”

He said every time there is a Hollywood production on exorcisms there is renewed interest in the ancient practice, which he describes as a “very complex procedure.”

“The right of exorcism is used very sparingly…because we have come so far in terms of understanding how to help people with mental illness…how to analyze these things. So it is quite possible that somebody who was considered possessed 100 or 200 years ago might be receiving treatment from a medical doctor or a psychologist today,” Steinberg said.