St. Michael the Archangel Prayers for Michaelmas (September 29)
On September 29 the Church keeps the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels, long known in English as Michaelmas. For centuries the date honored St. Michael alone, recalling the dedication of a basilica in his name on the Via Salaria near Rome; since the calendar reform of 1969, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael share the feast. Scripture calls Michael "the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people" (Daniel 12:1). He disputes with the devil in the Letter of Jude and leads the angels who cast the dragon out of heaven in Revelation 12.
Many Catholics prepare with St. Michael's Lent, forty days of prayer and fasting from August 15 to September 29, a custom kept by St. Francis of Assisi. Whether you have prepared or are just discovering the feast, the prayers below are a good way to keep it: Pope Leo XIII's famous prayer, the collect of the feast, and more prayers to the archangels and holy angels from our library.
About the Prayer of Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII composed the prayer to St. Michael in 1886 and ordered it to be said after every Low Mass, along with the other Leonine Prayers, a practice kept until the mid-1960s. In 1994 St. John Paul II urged the faithful not to forget it. Many parishes pray it after Mass again, and many families pray it together at night or in times of temptation and spiritual struggle.
The Prayer
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. Collect of the feast: O God, who in a wonderful order dost appoint the ministries of angels and of men, mercifully grant that those who always stand before Thee ministering in heaven may also protect our life on earth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
More prayers to the archangels and holy angels
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel: the Leo XIII prayer on its own page.
Chaplet of St. Michael: the Angelic Crown honoring the nine choirs of angels.
Prayer to St. Gabriel the Archangel, the angel of the Annunciation.
Prayer to St. Raphael the Archangel, the angel of healing and safe journeys.
Prayer to One's Guardian Angel, ahead of the Guardian Angels feast on October 2.
Angel of God, the first prayer many children learn.
Psalm 91: Prayer for Protection, the psalm of God's angelic protection.
Litany of the Saints, which calls on Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael by name.
Sources: Prayer to St. Michael, Pope Leo XIII (1886), traditional English, public domain; collect of September 29 translated from the Latin of the Roman Missal for this site.
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