St. Raphael Prayer: Archangel Raphael Prayers for Healing

St. Raphael is one of the three archangels named in the Bible, and his name means “God heals.” In the Book of Tobit he guides the young Tobias on a long journey, protects him from danger, leads him to his future wife and heals his father’s blindness. For that reason Catholics pray to St. Raphael for healing, for safe travel and for finding the right husband or wife.

Below is the traditional prayer to St. Raphael, a short invocation, the Church’s prayer for travelers, prayers for healing and for a future spouse, and the story of Raphael in Scripture.

The traditional prayer to St. Raphael

This prayer was printed in Catholic prayer books with an indulgence granted by Pope Leo XIII in 1890. It names everything Raphael is known for: guide of travelers, consoler of the unfortunate and “physician of God.”

Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, great prince of the heavenly court, illustrious for thy gifts of wisdom and grace, guide of travelers by land and sea, consoler of the unfortunate, and refuge of sinners, I entreat thee to help me in all my needs and in all the trials of this life, as thou didst once assist the young Tobias in his journeying. And since thou art the “physician of God,” I humbly pray thee to heal my soul of its many infirmities and my body of the ills that afflict it, if it be for my greater good. I ask, especially, for angelic purity, that I may be made fit to be the living temple of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

A short prayer to St. Raphael

For a quick prayer during the day, use this invocation from the same prayer book:

St. Raphael, preserve us from ill health and all danger to life.

Or simply: St. Raphael, angel of healing, pray for us.

A St. Raphael prayer for healing

Raphael told Tobit, “I am the angel Raphael,” after God had used him to heal Tobit’s eyes. This prayer, written for this page, asks his help for someone who is sick:

Saint Raphael, archangel and healer sent by God,
you brought light to the eyes of Tobit and joy to his home.
I ask you to stand beside (name), who is ill.
Bring the healing of Christ to body and soul,
guide the hands of those who care for (him or her),
and fill us all with trust in the goodness of God. Amen.

For more prayers, see our Catholic prayers for healing and prayer for the sick.

A prayer for safe travel

St. Raphael walked with Tobias from Nineveh to Media and back again. The Church’s traditional Itinerarium, the prayer priests have said for centuries before a journey, asks that “the Archangel Raphael accompany us along the way.” Here is the abridged form found in Catholic prayer books:

May the almighty and merciful Lord direct us on our journey; may He make it prosper and maintain us in peace.

May the Archangel Raphael accompany us along the way, and may we return to our homes in peace, joy, and health.

Lord, have mercy on us! Jesus Christ, have mercy on us! Lord, have mercy on us!

O God, Who didst cause the children of Israel to traverse the Red Sea dryshod; Thou Who didst point out by a star to the Magi the road that led them to Thee; grant us, we beseech Thee, a prosperous journey and propitious weather; so that, under the guidance of Thy holy angels, we may safely reach that journey’s end, and later the haven of eternal salvation.

Hear, O Lord, the prayers of Thy servants. Bless their journeys. Thou Who art everywhere present, shower everywhere upon them the effects of Thy mercy; so that, insured by Thy protection against all dangers, they may return to offer Thee their thanksgiving. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A St. Raphael prayer for a future spouse

Raphael led Tobias to Sarah, and their marriage began with prayer (Tobit 8). Many single Catholics ask his help in finding a good husband or wife. This prayer was written for this page:

Saint Raphael, you led Tobias to Sarah
and protected them on the night of their wedding.
Guide me, too, to the person God has prepared for me,
or to whatever vocation he has in mind.
Help me to grow in purity, patience and generosity,
so that I may love as God loves. Amen.

St. Raphael in the Bible

Raphael is the hero of the Book of Tobit (called Tobias in the Douay-Rheims Bible), one of the books of the Old Testament accepted by Catholics. Here is the story in brief.

Two prayers in distress. In Nineveh, the faithful Tobit has gone blind. Far away in Media, a young woman named Sarah is in despair. Both pray to God on the same day:

At that time the prayers of them both were heard in the sight of the glory of the most high God:
And the holy angel of the Lord, Raphael was sent to heal them both, whose prayers at one time were rehearsed in the sight of the Lord.

A guide for the journey. Tobit sends his son Tobias to collect a debt in Media, and Tobias looks for a traveling companion:

Then Tobias going forth, found a beautiful young man, standing girded, and as it were ready to walk.
And not knowing that he was an angel of God, he saluted him, and said: From whence art thou, good young man?

Protection and healing. On the way, Raphael (disguised as a relative named Azarias) protects Tobias from a great fish, teaches him how to use its gall and heart as medicine, and leads him to Sarah, whom Tobias marries. On their return, Tobias heals his father’s eyes.
The angel reveals himself. When Tobit wants to pay the guide, Raphael tells them who he is:

When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner, and hide the dead by day in thy house, and bury them by night, I offered thy prayer to the Lord.
And because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee.
And now the Lord hath sent me to heal thee, and to deliver Sara thy son’s wife from the devil.
For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord.

Raphael tells them to bless God and give thanks to him (Tobit 12:6, 12:20). The lesson of the book is that God hears the prayers of the faithful and sends his angels to help them, often in ways they do not recognize.

St. Raphael’s feast day and patronage

Since the calendar reform of 1969, St. Raphael is celebrated with St. Michael and St. Gabriel on September 29, the Feast of the Archangels. Before that, his own feast was kept on October 24.

St. Raphael is the patron of:

travelers and pilgrims,
the sick, physicians, nurses and pharmacists,
the blind and those with eye disease,
young people leaving home,
those looking for a spouse, and happy meetings.

Some ancient writers also saw Raphael in the angel who stirred the healing pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (John 5:4). Find more heavenly helpers in our list of patron saints.

A simple novena to St. Raphael

To pray a novena, say the traditional prayer above once a day for nine days, followed by an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be, and name your intention. A good time is September 20 to 28, ending on the eve of the Feast of the Archangels. You can also pray it before a long trip, a medical treatment or a decision about marriage.

Frequently asked questions

What is St. Raphael the patron saint of?

Healing, travelers, the sick and those who care for them, the blind, young people and those seeking a spouse. All of these come from his story in the Book of Tobit.

What does the name Raphael mean?

In Hebrew, Rapha-El means “God heals” or “God has healed.”

Is St. Raphael in the Bible?

Yes, in the Book of Tobit (Tobias), chapters 3 to 12. Protestant Bibles place Tobit in the Apocrypha, but it is part of the Catholic Old Testament.

Who are the seven archangels?

Raphael says he is “one of the seven, who stand before the Lord” (Tobit 12:15). The Church names only three archangels in the liturgy: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. The names of other archangels found in apocryphal books are not used in Catholic prayer.

Is St. Raphael a saint or an angel?

Both. He is an angel, not a human being who lived on earth, but the Church calls the holy angels “saints” because they are holy and live in God’s presence.

More prayers to the angels and saints

Texts and sources

Prayer to St. Raphael and the short invocation: F. X. Lasance, With God (1911), “Various Other Devotions” and “Indulgenced Prayers,” public domain (Wikisource).
Prayer for travelers: F. X. Lasance, With God (1911), “Prayer for Travelers” (an abridgment of the Breviary’s Itinerarium), public domain.
Scripture: Tobias 3:24–25, 5:5–6 and 12:12–15, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain; spacing before punctuation tidied. Verse numbers follow the Douay-Rheims; modern translations number Tobit differently.
The prayers for healing and for a future spouse were written for this page.