William S. Bowdern

Rev. Fr. William Sporing Bowdern, S.J.
Born	(1897-02-13)February 13, 1897 St. Louis, Missouri, US
Died	April 25, 1983(1983-04-25) (aged 86) St. Louis, Missouri, US
Resting place	Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis)
Education	St. Louis University High School
Known for	The 1949 Exorcism of Roland Doe

See also: Exorcism of Roland Doe and Possessed (2000 film)

William S. Bowdern (February 13, 1897 – April 25, 1983) was a Catholic priest^[1] of the Society of Jesus in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the author of The Problems of Courtship and Marriage printed by Our Sunday Visitor in 1939. He was a graduate of and taught at St. Louis University High School; he also taught at Saint Louis University.

Most notably, Bowdern was the lead exorcist in the exorcism of Roland Doe in 1949. The incident became the basis of William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel The Exorcist and the 1973 William Friedkin film The Exorcist^[2].

Exorcism

Main article: Exorcism of Roland Doe

In 1949, Bowdern was assisted in the exorcism of an anonymously named boy by fellow Jesuit priest Walter Halloran. Author William Peter Blatty contacted Bowdern as part of his research for his novel The Exorcist. In a 2000 TV movie titled Possessed, Bowdern was played by Timothy Dalton.^[3][4]

References

1. Roman, James W. (2009-02-17). Bigger than blockbusters: movies that defined America. ABC-CLIO. pp. 200–. ISBN 978-0-313-33995-0. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
2. "SLU Legends and Lore: The 1949 St. Louis Exorcism". www.slu.edu. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
3. Opasnick, Mark. "The Cold Hard Facts Behind the Story that Inspired "The Exorcist"". Strange Magazine #20. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
4. Thomas B. Allen (11 November 2013), Possessed: The True Story of an Exorcism, BookCountry, ISBN 978-1-4630-0367-8

External links

• Interview in which Father Bowdern is mentioned.
• Interview with Father Halloran (2000).
• SLU Legends and Lore: The 1949 St. Louis Exorcism
• Rev Fr William Sporing Bowdern on FindAGrave