September 29 | Feast of the Archangels (Michaelmas)

Year of Origin: 5th Century AD 

Country of Origin: Italy

Added to Liturgical Calendar: Pre-congregation (St. Michael’s Feast), Pope Paul VI in 1970 consolidated the feast to also include the other two Archangels

On this day of September, the Church celebrates the feast of the three archangels, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael. 

Popularly known as “Michaelmas,” the celebration of the feast on its current date likely dates back at least to fifth-century Rome shortly after the fall of the city’s eponymous empire. The Vatican in 1970 updated the feast to include not only the intercession of St. Michael, but the other two archangels as well.

Unlike most other saints, the three celebrated on this special liturgical feast are not human, but angels. Angels – like all beings – are part of God’s creation. However, unlike humans who have both a body and a soul, angels are pure spirits alone.

For us Catholics, understanding the role and purpose of angels is essential to appreciating the fullness of our Faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church echoes St. Augustine in saying, 

‘Angel' is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is 'spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is 'angel': from what they are, 'spirit', from what they do, 'angel.' With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they "always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven" they are the "mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word." (CCC. 329)

While there are numerous mentions of angels in Scripture, the only ones that are named are Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. This is the main reason why these three saints are collectively referred to as the “archangels.”

Sts. Michael and Gabriel appear in both the Old and the New Testaments. The great warrior Archangel Michael appears in the book of the prophet of Daniel, as well as the Epistle of Jude, and St. John’s Book of Revelation. 

The holy messenger, Gabriel, also appears in the Book of Daniel, as well as the Gospel of Luke – where he speaks to both the Blessed Mother (at the Annunciation) and Zechariah, the father of St. John the Baptist. 

St. Raphael appears in one book of the Bible – the Old Testament’s Book of Tobit, where he heals Tobit’s blindness, and helps his son, Tobiah find a wife.

All three of these powerful angelic saints have names ending in “-el,” a Hebrew morpheme meaning “God.” The name Michael means “Who is like God?” as he uttered to Lucifer (Satan) and the fallen angels who refused to serve; Gabriel’s name means “power of God” or “strength of God;” and owing to his role in the Book of Tobit, Raphael’s name means “God has healed.”

Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, pray for us.