St Michael the Archangel, also known as the Prince of the Heavenly Host, is a powerful angel entrusted by God with the great mission of defeating Satan in the war in heaven (Rev 12:7) and the protection of God's children from the forces of evil on Earth.
St Michael is one of the three main archangels mentioned in the Scriptures in the Old Testament book of Daniel (12:1), the other two being Gabriel and Raphael. Since the second half of the 20th century, the Roman Catholic Church commemorates the unified feast of Sts Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael on September 29.
The angels of the Bible are generally depicted as God's messengers to mankind. They are His instruments through which He communicates His will to men, and in Jacob's vision, they are depicted ascending and descending the ladder that spans from earth to heaven, while the Eternal Father looks down on the wanderer below. An angel found Agar in the wilderness (Gen 16); angels drew Lot out of Sodom; an angel announces to Gideon that he is to save his people; an angel foretells Samson's birth (Judg 13); and the angel Gabriel instructs Daniel (Dan 8:16), though he is not referred to as an angel in either of these passages, but "the man Gabriel" (9:21).
The same heavenly spirit announced St John the Baptist's birth and the Redeemer's Incarnation, and tradition attributes to him both the message to the shepherds (Lk 2:9). The spiritual nature of angels is very clearly manifested in Zacharias' account of the revelations bestowed upon him by the ministry of an angel. The angel is depicted by the prophet as speaking "in him." He appears to imply that he was aware of an interior voice that was not God's but of His messenger.
St Michael has a long history of fighting Satan. In Jude 1:9, he and Satan argue over Moses' body, which is one of his first encounters with Satan. It is believed that Satan was attempting to locate Moses' body in order to contravene God's first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me." By luring the Jewish people into worshipping Moses, Satan hoped to tempt them into sin.
St Michael’s biggest battle with Satan is described in Revelation 12:7-8, when Satan’s wicked angels try to revolt against God: “there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, was cast out into the earth, and his angels with him."
St Michael is viewed as the commander of the Army of God, and Church's greatest defender due to his great battle and defeat of Satan. From the time of the apostles, he has been invoked and honoured as the protector of the Church. St Michael has four distinct roles in Roman Catholicism. First and foremost, he is Satan's and the fallen angels' adversary. He defeated Satan and expelled him from Paradise, and he will triumph in the final battle with Satan. Second, he is the Christian angel of death: at the hour of death, St Michael descends and gives everyone the opportunity to redeem themselves before death. On Judgment Day, St Michael's third role is to weigh people's merits; hence the saint is often depicted holding scales. Finally, St Michael is the Church's Guardian.
