With great joy, the Church in the West celebrates the Archangels on their feast day on September 29. We honor them this way each year to recognize their important roles as messages of God and as protectors in the history of salvation.
There are three archangels named in the Bible. St Michael is seen as our protector and defender against Satan and against all evil. St Gabriel is a messenger of God’s Good News to his people on different occasions. And Raphael has the role of being a healer and a guide. The Archangels have been sent by God for these specific purposes in order to carry out specific roles in God’s plan of salvation for humanity. This feast day also reminds us of the presence of these spiritual beings who are actively at work to help us.
Since the angels and archangels are spiritual beings and have never been human beings, who are the three archangels given the title “Saint”? That is a question I have been asked on numerous occasions as a priest.
The dates of today’s feast on September 29 originally marked the dedication of an ancient basilica honoring St Michael located near the city of Rome. After the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the Church’s liturgical calendar combined the feast days of St Rafael and St Gabriel into this one feast day that celebrates all three archangels together.
Sometimes, non-Catholic do not understand why we would pray with Mary or the community of saints or the Archangels. To be very clear, we do not worship any of them like we would worship God. We do not see them as equal to God. However, we do honor the Archangels as powerful intercessors who bring our petitions before God, who guard us and help us on our spiritual journey, and who offer us spiritual strength during life’s struggles and challenges. The St Michael the Archangel prayer who written by Pope Leo XIV from a vision he had after his celebration of the Mass. That prayer was prayed at the end of all the low masses in Latin up until the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. St Michael is seen as the Prince of the Heavenly Host and the defender of the Church. He is invoked in prayers by Catholics both privately and at Mass for protection against Satan and against all evil. It is with great joy that we unite our prayers with the prayers of the Archangels today.
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