Prayer to St Michael
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle;
be our safeguard 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 the other evil spirits
who roam through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.
Text: our own text or translation, written for Verso.
In Latin
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.
About this prayer
Composed by Pope Leo XIII and added in 1886 to the prayers said after every Low Mass; the story of a vision behind it is often told but cannot be verified. Catholics said it after Mass until the 1960s. Since Pope John Paul II recommended it again in 1994, many parishes and families pray it after Mass, at night or in times of trial.