Abstract
The liturgical rites which prepared the candidates for baptism to adhere to the faith, by renouncing the evil one and sin, have a deep meaning. The exorcisms and the polls brought the candidates to an existential experience which facilitated their total conversion on the occasion of their baptism.
In the Sunday prayer tradition, the petition for deliverance from evil was part of the baptismal conversion. The experience of the ancient Church can thus be an inspiration for baptismal pedagogy in the Church today.