In Italian folklore, a malocchio prayer is part of a ritual to get rid of the “evil eye,” or malocchio. Tradition says that the prayer works best on Christmas Eve because of the superstition.
Before the prayer, a person must be checked to see if someone else has cursed them with the malocchio. A friend might be able to figure out if someone has malocchio by putting three drops of olive oil in a bowl of water. If the oil forms a shape that looks like an eye, the evil eye is there. As the drops fall apart, the people there make the sign of the cross and say “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The people then make the sign of the cross on the hands of the sick person and say this prayer three times: “Father, this prayer is being said for (name), and I pray it works in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
