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 thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan
and all evil spirits
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
Sancte Michael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio;
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli
esto praesidium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:
tuque, Princeps militiae caelestis,
Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,
qui ad perditionem animarum
pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute, in infernum detrude.
Amen.
Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio; contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur: tuque, Princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute, in infernum detrude. Amen.
SAHN-kteh MEE-kah-el Ar-KHAN-jeh-leh,
deh-FEN-deh nos in PREH-lee-oh;
KON-trah neh-KWEE-tsee-ahm et in-SEE-dee-ahs dee-AH-boh-lee
ES-toh preh-SEE-dee-oom.
Im-PEH-ret EEL-lee DEH-oos, SOOB-plee-ches deh-PREH-kah-moor:
too-kweh, PRIN-cheps mee-LEE-tsee-eh CHEH-les-tis,
SAH-tah-nahm ah-LEE-os-kweh SPEE-ree-toos mah-LEEG-nos,
kwee ahd pehr-dee-tsee-OH-nem AH-nee-mah-room
pehr-VAH-gahn-toor in MOON-doh,
dee-VEE-nah VIR-too-teh, in IN-fehr-noom deh-TROO-deh.
Ah-MEN.
History — Pope Leo XIII and the Leonine Prayers
The Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel was written by Pope Leo XIII (1810–1903) and promulgated in his 1886 Apostolic Constitution Quod Nunquam. As part of his response to what he perceived as grave spiritual dangers facing the Church and the world, Leo XIII composed a series of prayers to be recited kneeling after every Low Mass — collectively known as the Leonine Prayers (Preces Leoninae). These included three Hail Marys, the Hail Holy Queen with its versicle and response, a short prayer, and the St. Michael Prayer. The prayers were ordered specifically for Rome and the Papal States initially, but their use spread throughout the Church.
A widely circulated account — not formally verified by the Vatican, but reported by multiple witnesses — holds that in 1884 Leo XIII experienced a vision or locution after celebrating Mass in which he was granted a glimpse of a future trial for the Church. Shaken, he went directly to his study and wrote the St. Michael Prayer. Whether or not the account is historically precise, the prayer was formally promulgated and integrated into the liturgical life of the universal Church.
After the Second Vatican Council, the Leonine Prayers as a post-Mass rite were suppressed in 1964. However, the St. Michael Prayer has continued as a widely used private devotional prayer and as a traditional closing to the Rosary. Pope John Paul II encouraged its continued use, stating in 2002 that he wished the prayer would "be recited again after the celebration of the Eucharist."
St. Michael in Scripture and Tradition
St. Michael the Archangel appears explicitly in Scripture three times. In the Book of Daniel he is called "the great prince who stands guard over your people" (Daniel 12:1) and is described as one of the chief princes of the heavenly host (Daniel 10:13, 21). In the Letter of Jude (v. 9), Michael disputes with the devil over the body of Moses — the earliest Christian text to call him an archangel. In the Book of Revelation (12:7-9), it is Michael and his angels who fight and defeat the dragon (Satan) in the war in heaven, casting him and his angels to earth.
The title Princeps militiae caelestis — Prince of the heavenly host — given to him in this prayer is drawn from this scriptural tradition. The prayer's petition that he "cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls" echoes Revelation 12 and reflects the Church's traditional understanding of the spiritual battle that continues in history between the forces of good and evil.
In Catholic devotion, St. Michael has four offices: to fight Satan; to rescue souls from hell at the hour of death; to champion God's people; and to call souls from earth to their heavenly judgment. He is the patron of soldiers, police, paramedics, and the dying. His feast day is 29 September (Michaelmas), shared with Raphael and Gabriel.
The Short Form and the Long Form
There are two distinct forms of the St. Michael Prayer attributed to Pope Leo XIII. The short form — "Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle..." — is the version promulgated for use after Mass and the one universally used in private devotion and after the Rosary. It is approximately 70 words in English.
The long form is a much more extensive exorcism prayer also written by Leo XIII, running several paragraphs and including a lengthy series of scriptural invocations and adjurations directed at Satan. This longer text was part of the Rituale Romanum and was reserved for use by priests in formal exorcism contexts. It is not the form used in Rosary devotion. Orabimus uses the short form, which is the standard form for private prayer. The long-form Leonine exorcism prayers were formally superseded when Pope John Paul II promulgated the De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus Quibusdam (New Rite of Exorcism) on 22 November 1998, which came into force in 1999. This new rite uses substantially different exorcism prayers and was composed with modern theological and pastoral concerns in mind. The short St. Michael Prayer remains in wide devotional use independently of this liturgical development.
After the Rosary
The St. Michael Prayer is traditionally prayed as part of the closing devotions of the Rosary — after the Hail Holy Queen and the Closing Prayer. The typical order for those who pray the extended form is: Hail Holy Queen → Closing Prayer → Sign of the Cross → (optionally) Litany of Loreto → St. Michael Prayer → St. Joseph Prayer.
Orabimus includes the St. Michael Prayer in its closing prayers section. Pray the Rosary with Orabimus →
Related prayers: Hail Holy Queen — prayed immediately before these closing prayers; Litany of Loreto — also prayed after the Rosary; Prayer to St. Joseph — traditionally follows the St. Michael Prayer; all Rosary prayers.
Pray the Rosary with St. Michael's closing prayer.
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The Spiritual Battle — Ephesians 6 and the Cosmic Dimension
Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The St. Michael Prayer embodies this theology directly: it names the adversary, describes his activity (prowling through the world seeking the ruin of souls), and invokes a named intercessor against him. The prayer is unusual in Catholic spirituality for its specificity. Thomas Aquinas placed the angels in an ordered hierarchy of governance (Summa Theologiae I, Q. 108–113): Michael as archangel has specific authority over the protection of God’s people (Daniel 12:1). Three biblical texts converge in the prayer and give it its authoritative weight: Daniel 12:1 (guardian of God’s people), Jude 9 (“May the Lord rebuke you” — the prayer’s direct source), and Revelation 12:7–9 (Michael’s victory over Satan). To pray this prayer is not superstition but a scripturally grounded petition addressed to a real Person with a real mandate.
Sources: Ephesians 6:12 · Daniel 12:1 · Jude 9 · Revelation 12:7–9 · Thomas Aquinas, ST I, Q. 108–113
The Vision Story — What the Evidence Actually Shows
The story most often told — that Leo XIII had a vision of Satan challenging God to a century of power, rushed to his study, and immediately composed the prayer — is a pious tradition, not a formally documented event. Kevin Symonds’ scholarly study Pope Leo XIII and the Prayer to St. Michael (the most thorough examination of the evidence) concludes: the vision “likely occurred between 1884 and 1886” and “took place during the celebration of Mass.” The earliest printed account appeared in a 1933 German newspaper article — decades after the events, when all immediate witnesses were dead. Cardinal Giovanni Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano’s pastoral letters preserve an account (from Leo’s private secretary Rinaldo Angeli) that Leo had seen “demonic spirits congregating over the Eternal City” and composed the prayer in response. The vision story is historically probable but undocumented. The prayer’s text, its 1886 promulgation, and its spiritual authority are not in dispute — and do not depend on the vision.
Sources: Kevin Symonds, Pope Leo XIII and the Prayer to St. Michael · Cardinal Nasalli Rocca, Litteris Pastoralibus pro Quadragesima
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote the St. Michael the Archangel Prayer?
Pope Leo XIII wrote it in 1886 and ordered it said after every Low Mass worldwide as part of the Leonine Prayers. After Vatican II the post-Mass rite was suppressed (1964), but the prayer continues as a private devotion and after the Rosary. Pope John Paul II explicitly encouraged its continued use in 2002.
What does "Prince of the heavenly host" mean?
Princeps militiae caelestis — Prince of the heavenly host — refers to St. Michael's role as the chief of the angels in the spiritual warfare described in Revelation 12:7-9. "Host" here means an army — the angelic army of God. Michael is its commander. The title reflects both his scriptural role as defeater of Satan (Revelation 12) and his traditional position as first of the archangels in Catholic devotion.
Is the St. Michael Prayer part of the Rosary?
Not formally — it is not part of the required structure of the Rosary as defined by the USCCB or Church documents on the Rosary. It is a traditional closing prayer said after the Rosary ends. The Rosary properly closes with the Sign of the Cross after the Closing Prayer. The St. Michael Prayer, like the Litany of Loreto, is a traditional optional addition to the closing devotions.
What is the difference between the short and long form of the St. Michael Prayer?
The short form — "Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle..." — is the approximately 70-word prayer promulgated by Leo XIII for use after Mass and the standard form for private devotion. The long form is a much more extensive formal exorcism prayer also authored by Leo XIII, reserved for priestly exorcism contexts and not appropriate for ordinary private devotion or the Rosary.
What does "cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world" mean?
The prayer asks Michael to exercise the power given him by God to confine Satan and the evil spirits — it is an intercession and a command spoken in prayer, rooted in Revelation 12:7-9 where Michael casts the dragon (Satan) out of heaven. "Prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls" echoes 1 Peter 5:8 — "Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." The prayer acknowledges the reality of spiritual warfare while invoking Michael's angelic power against it.
When and why did Pope Leo XIII write the Prayer to St. Michael?
Pope Leo XIII added the Prayer to St. Michael to the Leonine Prayers in 1886 — two years after instituting the Leonine Prayers themselves (1884) to seek divine help for the Holy See's independence following the loss of the Papal States in 1870. The widely told story of a vision in which Leo heard Satan challenge God to a century of increased power is a pious tradition; Kevin Symonds' thorough study Pope Leo XIII and the Prayer to St. Michael concludes the vision 'likely occurred between 1884 and 1886,' confirmed by the account of Leo's private secretary. The prayer's mandatory recitation after Mass was suppressed by the liturgical instruction Inter Oecumenici (1964) but never forbidden. John Paul II and Francis both encouraged its voluntary restoration.
What biblical sources are behind the St. Michael Prayer?
Four biblical texts form the prayer. Daniel 12:1 establishes Michael as 'the great prince, the guardian of your people.' Jude 9 is the direct source of 'may God rebuke him' — Michael's exact words when disputing with the devil over the body of Moses. Revelation 12:7-9 is the prayer's backdrop: Michael and his angels fight the dragon (Satan) and cast him down. Ephesians 6:12 gives the theology of spiritual warfare: 'our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers.' The prayer is not a medieval invention but a distillation of these four texts into one petition.
Can laypeople pray the long version of the St. Michael Prayer?
No. The long form of the St. Michael Prayer, published by Leo XIII in 1890 as part of an exorcism rite, is strictly reserved for ordained priests — typically only those with explicit permission from their bishop. The short form (the Leonine Prayer, 1886) is what the laity are encouraged to pray daily. The distinction matters: the short form is a petition asking God and Michael to act; the long form contains direct exorcistic commands that the Church reserves to ordained ministers acting in the Church's authority.