Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel
Also known as: St. Michael Prayer Saint Michael Prayer Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
English Text
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, 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.
Translation tradition: Traditional English
Latin Text
Sancte Michael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio;
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:
tuque, Princeps militiae caelestis,
Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,
qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute, in infernum detrude. Amen.
Scripture: Revelation 12:7–9; Jude 1:9
When to pray: After Mass; in times of spiritual warfare; as a closing prayer of the Rosary.
History & Background
This short prayer was composed by Pope Leo XIII (r. 1878–1903) and published in 1886 following an apparition or mystical experience that the Pope reportedly had concerning a coming trial of the Church. Leo XIII appended it to the prayers recited after Low Mass (the Leonine Prayers), and it was thus prayed at the end of every low Mass until the liturgical reforms following the Second Vatican Council. Pope John Paul II repeatedly encouraged the faithful to resume praying it after Mass. The longer form of the prayer — beginning "O glorious prince St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts" — also dates to Leo XIII. The current short form became the standard version in the English-speaking world through the USCCB.
The Meaning of the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel
A Prayer Born from Papal Vision
The Prayer to Saint Michael was composed by Pope Leo XIII and added to the prayers said after Low Mass in 1886. According to long-standing Catholic tradition, its origin is associated with a profound mystical experience the pope received in 1884, an experience that left him deeply conscious of the forces arrayed against the Church in the modern age. Leo XIII ordered the prayer to be recited at the conclusion of every Low Mass throughout the universal Church, a practice that continued until the liturgical reforms following the Second Vatican Council. Far from being a pious relic, the prayer was a deliberate pastoral response to a perceived spiritual crisis, and Pope John Paul II appealed for its revival in a Regina Caeli address on 24 April 1994, urging the faithful not to forget it and to recite it for help in the battle against the forces of darkness.
Saint Michael in Scripture and Tradition
Scripture presents Saint Michael as the great defender of God's people. The Book of Daniel calls him 'the great prince who has charge of your people' (Daniel 12:1). The Letter of Jude shows him disputing with the devil over the body of Moses (Jude 1:9). Most dramatically, Revelation 12:7-9 depicts him leading the heavenly host in war against the dragon: 'Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon.' These are not merely poetic images; the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches plainly that 'the existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls angels is a truth of faith' (CCC 328). The Church has always honoured Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael as the three named archangels, whose feast day (29 September) is celebrated across the Church. The Catechism notes that, in her liturgy, 'she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels)' (CCC 335).
Spiritual Warfare: What the Prayer Actually Asks
The prayer makes four petitions: defence in battle, protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil, that God may rebuke Satan, and that Michael may cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Each request maps onto an ancient Catholic conviction: that the Christian life is, in the words of Saint Paul, a wrestling 'against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places' (Ephesians 6:12). The Catechism confirms this sober realism. Commenting on the final petition of the Lord's Prayer, it teaches: 'In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God' (CCC 2851). At the same time, the prayer rests on confidence, not fear. The Catechism reassures believers that 'the power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God's reign' (CCC 395).
The Role of Angels in the Life of the Church
Praying to Saint Michael is not an innovation; it belongs to the Church's oldest instinct of calling upon the angels as allies and intercessors. The Catechism teaches that 'the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels' (CCC 334), and that 'from its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession' (CCC 336). To invoke Michael by name in this prayer is simply to apply that general truth to the most urgent need: the defence of the soul against the one enemy who, in the words of the apostle Peter, 'prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour' (1 Peter 5:8). The image of an archangel as champion is not a medieval fantasy but a Scriptural category, and Leo XIII's prayer gives the faithful a short, powerful way to ask for that protection every day.
When and Why Catholics Pray It Today
Although the post-Mass recitation was discontinued after the Second Vatican Council, many parishes, especially those that celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass, continue to pray it aloud together immediately after the final blessing. Priests and catechists also recommend it at the end of the Rosary, during times of personal temptation, and whenever the faithful sense an unusual spiritual heaviness or oppression. Its brevity, less than a minute to pray aloud, makes it one of the most practical prayers in the ordinary Catholic's life of devotion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote the Prayer to Saint Michael?
Pope Leo XIII composed the Prayer to Saint Michael and ordered it included in the prayers recited after Low Mass throughout the universal Church. He added it in 1886, and Catholic tradition associates its origin with a profound mystical experience the pope had in 1884 that deepened his awareness of the spiritual battles facing the Church.
Is the Prayer to Saint Michael in the Bible?
The prayer itself is not from the Bible, but it is deeply rooted in Scripture. Saint Michael appears in Daniel 12:1 as protector of God's people, in Jude 1:9 disputing with the devil, and in Revelation 12:7-9 leading the angels in battle against Satan. The prayer's language about the devil prowling to ruin souls echoes 1 Peter 5:8.
Why do Catholics pray to Saint Michael after Mass?
Pope Leo XIII added the Prayer to Saint Michael to the set of prayers said after Low Mass in 1886. The practice reflected his conviction that the Church needed heavenly protection in a turbulent era. It continued until the liturgical reforms after the Second Vatican Council, and Pope John Paul II publicly encouraged its revival in 1994. Many parishes still pray it after Mass today, especially where the Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated.
What does 'defend us in battle' mean in the Saint Michael prayer?
The battle is the ongoing spiritual warfare every Christian faces against sin, temptation, and the influence of evil. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that evil is not an abstraction: 'In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God' (CCC 2851). Saint Paul describes the same reality in Ephesians 6:12. Asking Michael to defend us acknowledges that we need angelic help, not because God's power is insufficient, but because, in his providence, he works through the angels as instruments of his protection.
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