Prayer to St. Michael

Devotions

The short, urgent prayer for protection against the devil composed by Pope Leo XIII and once recited after every Low Mass.

The Prayer to St. Michael is a short petition, composed by Pope Leo XIII in the 1880s, asking the archangel’s protection against the devil and his snares. Once mandated after every Low Mass, it remains one of the most widely prayed Catholic devotional texts, without depending on any private revelation.

Quick Facts

Category: Holy Angels — Angelic Devotions
Origin: composed and promulgated by Pope Leo XIII in the 1880s
Associated figure: Pope Leo XIII (composer/promoter)
Country: Universal Church
Observed: especially September 29; prayed year-round
Church status: an established Catholic devotion
Private revelation: not dependent on private revelation

What Is This Devotion?

The Prayer to St. Michael is a short, urgent petition asking the archangel’s protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil, and asking him to cast Satan and the other evil spirits, who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls, into hell. Composed by Pope Leo XIII and once prescribed after every Low Mass, it remains one of the Church’s most widely prayed devotional texts, especially amid renewed contemporary attention to spiritual warfare. Its brevity is part of its enduring popularity: it can be prayed in under a minute, yet it names plainly both the reality of spiritual struggle and the confidence Catholics are asked to place in God rather than in fear.

Origin and History

Leo XIII composed the prayer in the 1880s and, from 1886, directed that it be recited after Low Mass throughout the Latin Church as part of a set that became known as the Leonine Prayers. A widely told and popular story recounts that the pope was moved to write it after a troubling mystical experience in 1884, sometimes described as a vision of a conversation between God and Satan concerning a period of trial for the Church; this account, though very often repeated, is not documented in any official Church text and its precise historical basis is debated among historians, so it should be treated as popular tradition rather than settled fact. The mandatory recitation after Low Mass continued until 1964, when Pope Paul VI discontinued it as part of the broader liturgical reforms following the Second Vatican Council — a change concerning what followed after Mass, not a judgment on the prayer’s spiritual value. Pope John Paul II, in 1994, publicly asked the faithful to keep praying it even though it was no longer obligatory, and later popes, including Pope Francis, have likewise encouraged its continued use.

Catholic Theology

The prayer is grounded in the biblical portrait of Michael as leader of the heavenly host against Satan in Revelation 12, and reflects the Church’s belief in a real spiritual struggle against evil — always understood within Christ’s definitive victory over sin and death, never as a self-standing power. Praying for Michael’s protection is an act of trust in God, not a formula or incantation that operates on its own; the Church has always paired such prayer with ordinary Christian means of resisting evil — repentance, the sacraments, and a life of virtue — rather than presenting it as a substitute for them.

How to Practice It

Pray it daily, or after Mass where local custom continues that practice.
Turn to it especially in times of temptation or spiritual difficulty, alongside — never instead of — the sacraments, above all confession and the Eucharist.
Pray it individually, as a family, or within a parish community.
Remember that any use of the Church’s formal deliverance or exorcism prayers belongs to clergy with the proper faculties, even though this particular prayer itself may be prayed by any of the faithful.

Associated Prayers

When It’s Observed

The prayer has no fixed liturgical date of its own; it is prayed year-round and especially around September 29, the shared feast of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Its recitation after Mass, where it still occurs, is a matter of local custom rather than universal legislation today.

Church Status

This is an established Catholic devotion. It is worth stating precisely: from 1886 to 1964 it was mandated after every Low Mass throughout the Latin Church, though it was never part of the Mass’s own liturgical rite. Today, where it is prayed after Mass, that is a matter of local pastoral custom rather than universal Church legislation.

Private Revelation

The popular story connecting the prayer’s composition to a reported mystical experience of Leo XIII has never been submitted to, or ruled on by, the Church’s formal process for discerning private revelation — it is a widely told papal anecdote, not an examined apparition claim. No Catholic needs to accept that story as historically verified in order to pray the prayer with full confidence; its value does not depend on the anecdote being literally accurate.

Common Misconceptions

“This prayer is only for priests or exorcists to use.”

Any of the faithful may pray it. Only solemn exorcism itself requires a priest with specific faculties; asking St. Michael’s protection through this prayer is open to everyone.

“The prayer is still mandated after every Mass today.”

The 1886 mandate was lifted in 1964. Any parish that recites it after Mass today does so by local custom, not universal requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote the Prayer to St. Michael?

Pope Leo XIII composed it in the 1880s and directed its recitation after Low Mass from 1886.

Is it still said after Mass?

Not by universal requirement — that mandate ended in 1964 — though many parishes continue the practice by local custom.

Can lay Catholics pray it for protection from evil?

Yes. It is open to any of the faithful and does not require a priest to be prayed.

Is this the same as an exorcism?

No. It is a devotional prayer any Catholic may say; a formal exorcism is a distinct liturgical rite reserved to a priest with specific faculties from his bishop.

Are there different versions of the prayer in use today?

Yes. Leo XIII’s original text was part of a longer set of prayers; the shorter form most Catholics know and pray today is the version that has remained in common use since the mandatory recitation ended in 1964.