Saint Michael in the Catholic Church
Saint Michael the Archangel is referenced in the Old Testament and has been part of Christian teachings since the earliest times.
In addition to these three Archangels, the Eastern Catholic Churches also venerate Uriel, Selaphiel, Jegudiel, Barachiel and Jerahmeel.
Archangels Michael and Gabriel are jointly depicted on Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a Byzantine icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary that has been the subject of widespread Catholic devotions for centuries.
And when Antichrist shall have set up his kingdom on earth, it is St Michael who will unfurl once more the standard of the cross, sound the last trumpet, bind together the false prophet and the beast and hurl them for all eternity into the burning pool.
In Catholic tradition, on Judgment Day Saint Michael weighs souls based on their deeds during their life on earth.
In a 2007 address Pope Benedict XVI urged the bishops he was ordaining to take Michael as a model in making room in the world for God, countering denials of him and thus defending humankind's greatness, and in acting as "true guardian angels" of the Church.
Identification of St Michael with the gift of healing can be seen in Gregory the Great leading a devotional procession in 590 when the city of Rome was afflicted with a plague that killed his predecessor.
[19][20] The Visio Sancti Pauli, written in the late fourth or early fifth century, presents St Michael as an advocate for sinners, guarantor of rain, and thus a patron of agriculture.
[21] Legends include a number of reported appearances of Saint Michael, where sanctuaries or churches were later built or dedicated to him.
[22][23] The role of Saint Michael as protector and guardian has also led to the design of statues that depict him, and the construction of Churches and monasteries at specific locations.
Because most monastic islands lie close to land, they were viewed as forts holding demons at a distance against attacks on the Church.
[25] Some Franciscan communities continue to observe the period from August 15 to September 29 as "St. Michael's Lent", a time of fasting and prayer.
In editions of the Roman Missal before 1970, Saint Michael was mentioned in the Confiteor as recited by the priest and again in the altar server's response at Mass.
He was mentioned also in celebrations of Solemn Mass when the priest put incense in the thurible, reciting the prayer: Per intercessionem beati Michaelis Archangeli, stantis a dextris altaris incensi, et omnium electorum suorum, incensum istud dignetur Dominus benedicere, et in odorem suavitatis accipere.
[26] Until Pope John XXIII revised it in 1960, the General Roman Calendar had not one but two feasts of Saint Michael, one on 29 September, the other on 8 May, each commemorating distinct events.
Because of his association with scales to judge the souls of the dead, Michael the Archangel is the patron saint of bankers and grocers.
[27] A large number of Roman Catholic churches around the globe are dedicated to Saint Michael, from Hammerfest, Norway, to Oeste Catarinense in Brazil.
Roman Catholic devotions to Saint Michael have been expressed in a variety of forms, including a chaplet and scapular.
A prayer to St. Michael for protection is found in the Carmina Gadelica, collected by Alexander Carmichael in the Gaelic-speaking regions of Scotland.
At the Benedictine Metten Abbey dedicated to Saint Michael the exorcism formula Vade Retro Satana was discovered in the 17th century.
[39][40][41] Rabanus' hymn, Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels (Christe, sanctorum decus Angelorum), sung for the commemoration of Saint Michael and All Angels, and to include the archangels Gabriel and Raphael, is found in English translation in The Hymnal 1982 (of the Episcopal Church), and was harmonized by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
and Saint Michael asks it scornfully as he slays Satan, represented as a dragon, or a man-like figure, at times with wings.
[19][45] The original meaning of the name Michael gave rise to the Latin phrase Quis ut Deus?
