MIRACULOUS MIRACLES^™

Prayer — Prayers to the Angels

Prayer to St. Raphael the Archangel

Indulgenced by Leo XIII, 21 June 1890

'Guide of those who journey by land or sea, consoler of the afflicted, and refuge of sinners' — the indulgenced prayer to the archangel of Tobit, physician of God, approved by Leo XIII in 1890.

The Prayer

English · Original

Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, great Prince of the heavenly court, illustrious for thy gifts of wisdom and grace, guide of those who journey by land or sea, consoler of the afflicted, and refuge of sinners; I beg thee to assist me in all my needs and in all the sufferings of this life, as once thou didst help the young Tobias on his travels. And because thou art the medicine of God, I humbly pray thee to heal the many infirmities of my soul, and the ills which afflict my body, if it be for my greater good. I specially ask of thee an angelic purity which may fit me to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

When the Prayer is Said

Before a journey; in sickness; on the feast of the archangels (29 September; formerly 24 October); as the daily prayer of the novena to St. Raphael.

History & Background

Raphael is named in Scripture only in the Book of Tobit, where he walks with the young Tobias to Media and back, binds the demon that had killed Sara's seven husbands, and restores the sight of the elder Tobit with the gall of a fish — and then reveals himself: 'I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord' (Tobit 12:15). His name means 'God heals'. From these three offices come the three things the Church asks of him: safe journeys, healing, and deliverance in marriage and from evil.

This prayer gathers all three. It was granted an indulgence of one hundred days by Leo XIII on 21 June 1890, and appears in the Raccolta from that time. The Raccolta of 1910 prints it as the single prayer under the archangel's name; the same text served as the daily prayer of the novena to St. Raphael in American novena manuals, and it is still the prayer most Catholics know.

Raphael's feast was 24 October in the old calendar; since 1969 the three archangels have shared 29 September.

Indulgences Attached

One hundred days, once a day — Leo XIII, 21 June 1890 (Raccolta, 1910, no. 295).

Related Saints

St. Raphael the Archangel

Created before the world – Immortal

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