Pope Leo XIII, 1886

Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel

Said at the end of Low Mass for decades

LatinEnglish

Sancte Míchael Archángele, defénde nos in prælio; contra nequítiam et insídias diáboli esto præsídium. Ímperet illi Deus, súpplices deprecámur: tuque, Princeps milítiæ cæléstis, Sátanam aliósque spíritus malignos, qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in mundo, divína virtúte in inférnum detrúde.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the divine power thrust into hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls.

Amen.

SourcePope Leo XIII, 1886 · Said at the end of Low Mass for decades

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The history of this prayer

In 1884 Pope Leo XIII ordered certain prayers to be said after every Low Mass; in 1886 he added this one, to St Michael. An often-told story, without reliable documentation, says he wrote it after a vision in which he heard Satan challenge the Church.

The “Leonine prayers” were said kneeling at the end of Mass until 1964, when the instruction Inter Oecumenici removed them. In 1994 St John Paul II asked the faithful not to forget the prayer to St Michael. The feast of the Archangels is on 29 September.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote the St Michael prayer?

Pope Leo XIII, who ordered it to be said after Mass from 1886.

Is the St Michael prayer still said at Mass?

It ceased to be required in 1964, but many parishes have returned to praying it after Mass, and at the traditional Latin Mass it is still said in many places.

Is this prayer an exorcism?

No. It is a plea any of the faithful may pray. Leo XIII separately wrote a longer exorcism, meant for other use.

More prayers: The angels

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