Fr. Kevin Drew: The Devil is Real

Eight hundred years ago in Belgium, as a third of Europe was dying of the Bubonic Plague, a group of men quit their jobs and dedicated themselves to tending the sick and the dying.  They became known as the Alexian Brothers, named after St. Alexis of Rome.

The new religious order distinguished itself by accepting patients no one else wanted, including those who suffered from mental disorders.  Caring for the mentally ill then became a charism of the Alexian Brothers. They came to America in the 1800s, starting hospitals in Chicago in 1866 and St. Louis in 1869.

As a young man, my father studied nursing under the Alexian Brothers.  In 1955, when he was 20 years old, my father did clinical studies at their St. Louis hospital.  He was assigned to the psych ward.

Strangely, there was a room on the fifth floor, that had been sealed off for years.  People asked questions, but the hospital staff remained tight-lipped about the room—one rumored to be associated with evil noises and dark phenomenon. …

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