Pio of Pietrelcina
Amantini studied exorcism with Fr. Alessandro Coletti, C.P., exorcist of the Diocese of Arezzo and performed his first exorcisms under his guidance. Amantini also had contact with St Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. Padre Pio said of him: "Father Candido is a priest according to God's heart." From 1961 until his death in 1992, Amantini practiced exorcism full-time at the Church of the Holy Staircase in Rome.