Who are the three archangels?
The three archangels whom the Church honors by name are St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael. They are also the only three angels who are mentioned by name in Sacred Scripture. The Feast of all three Archangels is September 29. In the traditional calendar this was St. Michael’s feast day, with St. Gabriel’s being March 24th (the day prior to the Annunciation) and St. Raphael’s being October 24th. Communities which celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite still celebrate the three feasts.
Unlike human beings who share a common nature, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that as pure spirits each angel has a unique nature. Their degree of likeness to God and His Divine Spirit distinguishes them, rather than the material differences which permit us to identify individual human beings. Nonethless, they can still be classed into groups, called choirs, according to their spiritual similarity to each other and the missions which God has given them.
Closest to God are the spirits of the highest choirs, the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones; closest to mankind, and most like us in spirit, are the lower choirs. Among these are the archangels and angels, who serve as greater and lesser messengers (Greek, aggelos) to human beings from God. We have the names of three of the seven arch-messengers, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel in the Sacred Scripture–St. Raphael identifies himself as one of seven who stand before the throne of God (Tobit 12:15). The names of the other four archangels are not given to us to know, and the Church forbids us to call upon by name any but the three whose names Scripture has revealed.
St. Thomas Aquinas gave us the following hierarchical list of the nine angelic choirs (using the traditional names from the Hebrew and Greek through the Latin Vulgate of St. Jerome):
Seraphim (Is. 6:2, 6, seraphin)
Cherubim (Gen. 3:24, Heb. 9:5, cherubin)
Thrones (Col. 1:16, throni)
Dominions (Col. 1:16, Eph. 1:21, dominationem )
Virtues (Eph. 1:21, virtutem)
Powers (Rom. 8:38, Eph. 1:21, potestatem)
Principalities (Col. 1:16, Eph. 1:21, principatum)
Archangels (Rev. 12:7, Jude 9, archangelus)
Angels (over 300 references, angelus)
St. Michael
“The battle against the devil, which is the principal task of Saint Michael the Archangel, is still being fought today, because the devil is still alive and active in the world.” – Pope St. John Paul II
Who is the chief angel in heaven?
St. Michael is the “Prince of the Heavenly Host.”
What does Michael mean in Hebrew?
Speaking of St. Michael. Pope St. John Paul II said, “His name is a synthesis that expresses the essential attitude of the good spirits. ‘Mica-EL’ in fact means: ‘Who is like God?’ In this name, therefore, we find expressed the salvific choice thanks to which the angels ‘see the face of the Father’ who is in Heaven.”
Why is Michael the Archangel a saint?
“Saint” indicates that one is holy, whether a human or an angel. The term is used in many ways. St. Paul speaks in his letters of the just as “saints.” The Church speaks of canonized saints, those whose heroic virtue has been demonstrated and whose presence with God has been confirmed by their miraculous intercession. As St. Michael is one of the holy angels, he is a saint in both the general sense of “just,” and in the specific sense of being recognized by the Church as eternally with God. This is also true of St. Gabriel and St. Raphael.
He is the patron saint of grocers, soldiers, doctors, mariners, first responders, and police. More importantly, he is the Guardian of the Church, as he was shown to be of Israel in the Old Testament (Daniel 10).
St. Gabriel
St. Gabriel is often shown with lilies, symbolizing purity.
The Book of Daniel mentions two archangels: Michael and Gabriel. In this Old Testament book, St. Gabriel interprets Daniel’s visions.
However, St. Gabriel is best known for his role in the New Testament. Zechariah, a Jewish priest, and his wife Elizabeth had been unable to have children, and Elizabeth was well beyond childbearing years. St. Gabriel approached Zechariah while the priest was burning incense in the temple. The angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John” (Luke 1:13). However, Zechariah doubted his words. In response, the archangel said, “I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time” (Luke 1:19-20). This child who was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth was St. John the Baptist.
St. Gabriel also appeared to Mary at the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38).
What does Gabriel mean in Hebrew?
St. John Paul II said, “[St. Gabriel’s] name means: ‘my power is God’ or ‘power of God,’ as if to say that the culmination of creation, the Incarnation is the supreme sign of the omnipotent Father.”
What is St. Gabriel the patron saint of?
St. Gabriel is the patron saint of telecommunication workers, radio broadcasters, postal workers, and messengers.
St. Raphael
What does Raphael mean in Hebrew?
St. John Paul II said, “Finally, the third archangel is called Raphael. ‘Rafa-EL’ means: ‘God heals.’ He is made known to us by the story of Tobias in the Old Testament, which is so significant for what it says about entrusting to the angels the little children of God, who are always in need of custody, care, and protection.”
What is St. Raphael the patron saint of?
He is the patron saint of travelers, blind people, nurses, pharmacists, physicians, and people who are ill.
In icons, why does St. Raphael hold a fish?
The fish symbol is a sign of St. Raphael’s role in spiritual and material healing.
What is the story of St. Raphael and the fish?
In the book of Tobit we are told that as Tobias and St. Raphael were traveling together, Tobias went to wash in the Tigris River. A fish tried to attack him, but St. Raphael told him to catch the fish and remove the heart, liver, and gall. He then used them to deliver Sarah from the demon and Tobit from his blindness.
“Brother Azarias, of what use is the liver and heart and gall of the fish?” (Raphael) replied, “As for the heart and the liver, if a demon or evil spirit gives trouble to any one, you make a smoke from these before the man or woman, and that person will never be troubled again. And as for the gall, anoint with it a man who has white films in his eyes, and he will be cured” (Tobit 6:6-8).
It was, of course, by divine power that their spiritual and material healing was accomplished. However, the archangel in his human disguise used material means as signs, just as Christ used His spit and dirt, and the Church uses matter in the sacraments, as visible signs of spiritual realities.