Sister Angela Musolesi is a lay Franciscan nun who specializes in the Ministry of Liberation. She was a collaborator of Fr. Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, for about 30 years. She founded the Children of Light, a community that gathers for intercessory prayer with groups of families and friends.

Aleteia interviewed Sister Angela about her experience helping to free people from demonic influence. Here are some excerpts from that conversation, highlighting the powerlessness of the devil before Mary’s humility and holiness:

Sister Angela, thank you for your willingness to speak with Aleteia. I’ll start with a direct question: should we be afraid of the devil?

I’ll tell you about an episode that happened to me two days ago. The devil is afraid of us, of us who have solid faith. He’s afraid because he knows that we are of God. Two days ago I was praying with a priest for a person, while I was saying prayers of liberation, Satan showed up; he was very angry and said: “I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you.” I replied, “You can do nothing to me because I am very protected by the Immaculate.” I pointed to the statue of Mary Most Holy, and repeated the sentence three times. The third time that I reminded him of the protection of the Immaculate, he began to cry.

I was struck by this episode: he cried. It means that Satan knows the truth well; he knows well that Our Lady has defeated him. Satan knows well that he has been defeated by Mary and that he can do nothing to those protected by Mary—people of faith who entrust themselves to her. Satan cried because he knows he is defeated, so we should not be afraid of him.

One thing that strikes me very much in your books is the power of Our Lady. Reading your eyewitness accounts of liberation from the oppression of the evil one, it’s sensational to see the anger that the devil manifests precisely because of the most powerful weapon that Mary has: her humility.

First of all, let us keep in mind that the teachings that I repeat are those of Fr. Amorth, which in some cases are not agreed upon by everyone.

A short time ago I happened to pray for a person oppressed by the evil one, with a priest who adheres to the principles of Fr. Amorth and who has joined the Children of Light which I founded. First, he commanded every unclean legion to leave the person, and then I repeated it. Satan revealed himself and said, “I do not take orders from a woman.” “Oh, no?” I replied, and I took the image of Mary and reminded him that he was defeated by a woman, and he became infuriated. Keep in mind that Satan’s principles are first and foremost the conviction that he is the greatest, and then that women are worth nothing. By that logic, it’s crazy for him to admit that he was defeated by a woman. Hence the desperation he manifests when he is reminded of it. Sometimes I heard him say about Mary: “Your mother, not my mother.”

It is an unspeakable humiliation for the proudest being to bow before the most humble … And why is the devil so eager to attack the family?

The family is an icon of the Holy Trinity, and the family is what builds and sustains society. To strike at the image of God in us, the devil strikes at the family, because it’s the pillar of life and therefore also of the Kingdom of God.

Read more: How the Virgin Mary protects her faithful children from all evil