Novena to St Michael the Archangel

The novena to St Michael the Archangel is nine consecutive days of prayer to the prince of the heavenly host, asking his protection against the devil, his defence of the Church, and his help in leading the soul to God. We pray the 9 day novena to St Michael for one settled intention, returning each day to the great Archangel whom Scripture names as the captain of the armies of heaven. Below is what the St Michael novena is, the Scripture that grounds it, and the daily prayer to pray it.

Who St Michael is

St Michael is named four times in Scripture, and each time at the front of a battle. He is the prince who stands for the people of God: "Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil, contended about the body of Moses" (Jude 1:9, Douay-Rheims). The prophet Daniel calls him "Michael the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people" (Daniel 12:1), and again "Michael, one of the chief princes" who came to help (Daniel 10:13). And St John sees him at the head of the war in heaven: "And there was a great battle in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: and they prevailed not" (Apocalypse 12:7-8).

His very name is a battle cry. Michael means Quis ut Deus — "Who is like God?" — the answer hurled at Lucifer's pride. He is therefore the prince of the heavenly host, the standard-bearer of the angels who kept their place, and the chief defender of the Church against the dragon "who seduceth the whole world" (Apocalypse 12:9). This is why the Church puts him first among the angels we invoke and gives him the daily Prayer to St Michael against "the malice and snares of the devil."

Why we make a novena to St Michael

A novena is nine days of unbroken prayer for one grace, after the pattern of the first nine days — Our Lady and the Apostles persevering "with one mind in prayer" (Acts 1:14) from the Ascension to Pentecost. We treat the form itself in what is a novena. The merit lies not in the number but in the perseverance Our Lord commanded when He bade us "always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1).

We make this novena to St Michael because the angels are given to us. They are real persons, pure spirits created by God, and they are sent to serve our salvation: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14). St Thomas teaches that the higher angels are set over the lower and over us, and that even nations and the Church have their angelic guardians (Summa Theologiae I, q. 113, a. 1-3). To ask St Michael's intercession is not to worship a creature — adoration belongs to God alone — but to beg the prayers of the mightiest of the holy angels, as we beg the prayers of the saints. The Roman Catechism teaches that the angels watch over us and "obtain for us many blessings from God" (Catechism of the Council of Trent, on the First Article of the Creed).

We seek his help in three offices in particular. First, as defender against the devil — for our war is not against flesh and blood "but against the spirits of wickedness in the high places" (Ephesians 6:12), the daily reality treated in spiritual combat. Second, as protector of the Church, the prince who stands for the people of God against the dragon's assault. Third, as guide of souls to God — for tradition gives St Michael the office of receiving the souls of the dead and presenting them, a hope echoed in the Offertory of the Requiem Mass and in the prayers of all souls day and the novena for the dead. He is the Archangel of the four last things: of death, of the judgment, and of the eternity that follows — for hell is real, as we hold in does hell exist, and St Michael fights for the soul that it not be lost.

How to pray the novena to St Michael

The 9 day novena to St Michael is prayed on nine consecutive days. Fix one intention before you begin and hold to it. Each day, in a quiet place, make the Sign of the Cross, recall your intention, and pray the daily prayer below, followed by the Prayer to St Michael. Many add the Chaplet of St Michael — the nine salutations to the nine choirs of angels — so the novena and the chaplet are prayed together, the perfect companions of this devotion.

The novena may be prayed at any time of need, and especially in the nine days closing on Michaelmas, the feast of St Michael (29 September). If a day is missed, the older counsel is simply to continue, for the worth of the prayer is in the faithful return, not in a flawless count.

The daily prayer

Pray this each of the nine days:

Saint Michael the Archangel, glorious prince and leader of the heavenly host, who by the power of God didst cast down Lucifer and the rebel angels into hell, come to the help of men, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil.

Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in heaven. That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who seduceth the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men hath taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wandereth about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth, that therein he may blot out the name of God and of His Christ, and seize, slay, and bring to eternal ruin the souls destined for the crown of eternal glory.

Drive far from us, O prince most glorious, the malice and snares of the devil. Stretch forth thine arm, we beseech thee, in the strength of the Lord of hosts, and in the power of His might bind fast the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and cast him bound into the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the souls of men. Amen.

(Then add the daily petition for your intention.)

Close each day with the Prayer to St Michael of Pope Leo XIII and, if you will, the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be for your intention.

The novena prayer to St Michael the Archangel

The novena prayer to St Michael the Archangel is the single text repeated on each of the nine days — the prayer given above, beginning Saint Michael the Archangel, glorious prince and leader of the heavenly host. It is drawn from the longer exorcism prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII, and it gathers in one place the four scriptural offices of the Archangel: that he cast down Lucifer, that he fights the battle of the Lord, that he drives off the malice and snares of the devil, and that he binds the dragon. To pray the novena of St Michael the Archangel is simply to return to this one prayer for nine days, joined to the short Prayer to St Michael and your daily petition. There is no other secret formula: the novena prayer and the perseverance are the whole of it.

The St Michael novena among the Church's devotions

This novena belongs to the household of traditional catholic devotions and traditional catholic prayers: the short prayer to St Michael, the chaplet of St Michael, and this nine-day novena form one body of devotion to the great defender. It stands beside the other great novenas — the pentecost novena to the Holy Ghost, the novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the novena for the dead — and beside the chaplets gathered in what is a chaplet, among them the five wounds chaplet. To pray it is to take our place in the line St Michael leads: the Church Militant on earth, calling on the prince of the heavenly host while the war for souls is still being fought.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you pray the novena to St Michael the Archangel?

Pray it on nine consecutive days, holding to one settled intention. Each day, make the Sign of the Cross, recall your intention, and say the daily prayer to St Michael given above, followed by the short Prayer to St Michael of Pope Leo XIII and, if you wish, an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. Many pray it in the nine days closing on Michaelmas (29 September). If a day is missed, simply continue — the worth of the novena is in the faithful return, not a flawless count.

How do you pray the Chaplet of St Michael?

The Chaplet of St Michael honours the nine choirs of angels in nine salutations. After an opening invocation — O God, come to my assistance — one prays a salutation to each of the nine angelic choirs in turn, each followed by one Our Father and three Hail Marys, asking through that choir's intercession a particular grace. It closes with four more Our Fathers (for St Michael, St Gabriel, St Raphael, and one's Guardian Angel) and a concluding prayer. It pairs naturally with the novena; we set it out in full in the Chaplet of St Michael.

What is the novena to St Michael prayed for?

It is prayed for three things above all: protection against the devil and his snares, for "our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the spirits of wickedness" (Ephesians 6:12); the defence of the Church, for whom St Michael stands as prince; and the safe passage of souls to God, since tradition gives him the office of receiving the souls of the dead. Beyond these, it may be prayed for any worthy intention placed under his powerful protection.

What is the novena prayer to St Michael the Archangel?

It is the prayer beginning Saint Michael the Archangel, glorious prince and leader of the heavenly host, who by the power of God didst cast down Lucifer and the rebel angels into hell — given in full above. It is drawn from the exorcism prayer of Pope Leo XIII and is the one text repeated on each of the nine days of the novena, followed by the short Prayer to St Michael and your own petition.

How many days is the novena to St Michael?

Nine days, like every novena — after the pattern of the nine days Our Lady and the Apostles persevered in prayer between the Ascension and Pentecost (Acts 1:14). The nine days closing on Michaelmas (29 September) are the most fitting time, but the novena to the Archangel may be made at any time of need.

When is the feast of St Michael?

The feast of St Michael the Archangel — Michaelmas — is kept on 29 September. The nine days closing on that date are the most fitting time to pray the novena, though it may be prayed at any time of need. The traditional Roman calendar honours him as the prince of the heavenly host and the chief of the holy angels.

The Iter Fidei app carries the Douay-Rheims Bible, the catechism, the prayers and the devotions — the Prayer to St Michael and the Chaplet of St Michael among them, in Latin and English with audio. Download it here.

Sources. Scripture cited per the Douay-Rheims (Jude 1:9; Daniel 10:13; 12:1; Apocalypse 12:7-9; Acts 1:14; Luke 18:1; Hebrews 1:14; Ephesians 6:12). St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, q. 113, aa. 1-3 (on the guardianship of the angels). Catechism of the Council of Trent (1566), on the First Article of the Creed (the ministry of the angels). The Prayer to St Michael, Pope Leo XIII (1884). The Chaplet of St Michael, indulgenced by Pope Pius IX (1851). The traditional exorcism prayer of Leo XIII, from which the daily novena prayer is drawn.