When a fellow priest and friend was unable to fulfill his duty to head to Italy and learn the art of exorcism, Father Gary Thomas offered to step in.

“I could be the exorcist.”

Now, six years later, Thomas is a Vatican-certified exorcist whose experiences inspired the “The Rite,” a book and a recent film by the same name chronicling Thomas’ true story of traveling to Rome to learn to perform exorcisms.

The film stars Anthony Hopkins and was released in late January. Thomas, who has appeared on Nightline and several other news outlets, said “The Rite” offers a more accurate portrayal of exorcism than other cinematic interpretations.

“There is no green pea soup, no spinning heads and no levitating beds in my work,” he said.

Thomas spoke about his experience Tuesday night at St. Stephen’s Church at an event hosted by GW’s Newman Catholic Center.

“This work is very challenging. It can be exhausting,” Thomas said about his role as an exorcist. “It’s also very meaningful and very satisfying.”

Thomas, a practicing priest for 27 years, described the art of exorcism. He said each possessed individual receives an initial consultation by a team that includes a physician, a clinical psychologist, a psychiatrist and other priests so they can determine whether the symptoms are due to biological problems or a demon.

“It is Christ who is the exorcist, not the priest. I am there as the vessel,” he said.

Father Greg Shaffer, the full-time chaplain for the Newman Center, said he brought Thomas to campus because of a demand for the supernatural among students.

“I think you might find more sensationalistic exorcists, people who get into all the hoopla of Hollywood. But he’s just very matter-of-the-fact and says this is about healing,” Shaffer said. “That’s really what exorcism is all about.”