From the desk of the Tar Heel disciple:
September 21, 2025
According to the General Roman Calendar, September 29 is the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel. Since 1969, the Archangels Gabriel and Raphael have been celebrated together with him, on the same day. Many of the faithful might be surprised to know that the latter two had only been placed on that universal liturgical calendar in 1921 (Gabriel, on March 24, and Raphael, on October 24). The celebration of a feast of St. Michael on this date has roots in the eighth century, perhaps commemorating the dedication of a church in Rome. May 8 was also observed in honor of St. Michael, under the title of the Apparition of St. Michael, with reference to a famous shrine dedicated to the Archangel at Mount Gargano, Italy. The May feast was removed from the General Roman Calendar in the 1962 Roman Missal. During the Middle Ages, the September feast, known as “Michaelmas” in England, was observed as a holy day of obligation.
St. Michael is mentioned in four places in the Scriptures: Daniel 10, Daniel 12, the Letter of Jude, and Revelation 12. Some of the Church Fathers also proposed that he was the unnamed angel in other episodes of Biblical history, e.g., the angel sent to bar the return of Adam and Eve to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24). St. Basil, among others, believed that Michael is the prince of all the angels. St. Bonaventure described him as the prince of the “seraphim,” the first of the nine choir of angels, while St. Thomas Aquinas reckoned him as the head of the “angels,” the last and lowest choir.
In more recent times, devotion to St. Michael has perhaps increased due to the use of the St. Michael prayer, which Pope Leo XIII directed to be recited at the conclusion on every “Low Mass,” beginning in 1886. This practice was made optional in 1965 and was widely abandoned. Pope St. John Paul II recommended its use in 1994. It is now recited after Masses in many parishes and can be utilized by individuals in their personal devotions:
St. 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.
Books, medals, chaplets, candles, statues,& more., related to St. Michael the Archangel
Material related to St. Raphael
Material related to St. Gabriel
