The Saint Michael the Archangel Novena

The Saint Michael the Archangel Novena is a nine-day Catholic prayer offered in honor of the Archangel Michael, prince of the heavenly host and the foremost angelic defender of the Catholic Church. The novena is prayed for spiritual protection, deliverance from evil, and the courage to do God's will against all opposition.

Origin and historical development

Catholic veneration of Saint Michael is among the oldest of all angelic devotions. The Book of Revelation depicts Michael leading the heavenly host in battle against the dragon: "Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon" (Revelation 12:7). The Catholic patristic tradition from the fourth century onward identifies Michael as the protector of the people of God in spiritual warfare.

The Saint Michael Prayer, composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 after a private vision of spiritual conflict and originally prescribed at the conclusion of every Catholic Low Mass, became the foundational text of the modern novena. The traditional novena form is prayed for nine consecutive days leading up to the Feast of the Holy Archangels on September 29, the Catholic feast also called Michaelmas.

Structure of the novena

The novena is structured around the nine choirs of angels described in the Catholic angelic hierarchy: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. Each day of the novena petitions Saint Michael in association with one of the nine angelic choirs and asks for a particular grace.

Each day's prayer is brief, suitable for inclusion in daily Catholic prayer alongside the Holy Rosary or the Liturgy of the Hours. The total daily commitment is approximately five minutes.

When the novena is prayed

The traditional dates of the novena are September 20 through September 28, ending on the eve of the Feast of the Holy Archangels (September 29). The novena may also be prayed at any time of the year for personal intentions involving spiritual protection or the discernment of God's will.

The Feast of the Holy Archangels celebrates Saint Michael together with Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael, the three angels named in canonical Catholic Scripture. The feast is a Memorial in the universal Roman Calendar.

Theological foundation

The Catholic devotion to Saint Michael rests on three principal grounds:

1. The biblical witness: Michael is named four times in canonical Scripture (Daniel 10:13, Daniel 10:21, Daniel 12:1, Jude 1:9, Revelation 12:7), each time as the angelic warrior-protector of the people of God.
2. The patristic tradition: Saints Gregory the Great, Saint John Chrysostom, and the broader patristic tradition identify Michael as the angel particularly entrusted with the defense of the Church.
3. The papal teaching: Pope Leo XIII's Saint Michael Prayer, and the more recent teaching of Pope Saint John Paul II affirming Michael's role in the spiritual struggle of the Catholic life.

For the broader Catholic teaching on the angelic hierarchy, see What is an archangel?.

Pairing with other prayers

The Saint Michael Novena pairs naturally with other Catholic prayers of protection and spiritual warfare: the Holy Rosary, the Apostles' Creed, the Anima Christi, and the standard daily prayers of the Catholic prayer life. For related saints whose intercession is invoked for spiritual courage, see Saint Padre Pio and Saint Maximilian Kolbe.

Sources

The text of the Saint Michael Prayer is drawn from the Acta Sanctae Sedis of 1886 and the subsequent Raccolta indulgenced-prayer collection. The novena structure follows the medieval Catholic devotional tradition and is preserved in the standard Catholic Manual of Prayers used by Catholic religious communities and the lay faithful.