The Chaplet of St. Michael honors the archangel and the nine choirs of angels in nine short “salutations,” each made of one Our Father, three Hail Marys and a petition for one grace. It ends with four more Our Fathers, an anthem to St. Michael and a closing prayer, and takes about fifteen to twenty minutes. Blessed Pius IX approved the chaplet and attached indulgences to it in 1851. The text on this page is the English of the 1878 Raccolta, the Holy See’s collection of indulgenced prayers at that time, where it is called the “Angelical Crown in honor of St. Michael.”
How to pray the Chaplet of St. Michael
- Make the Sign of the Cross. Holding the medal, say the opening versicle and response, then the Glory Be.
- First salutation. On the single bead, pray one Our Father. On the three beads that follow, pray three Hail Marys. Then say the first petition, to the choir of the Seraphim.
- Salutations two to nine. Repeat the same pattern for each of the other eight choirs of angels, saying the petition printed for that choir.
- Four Our Fathers. On the four beads near the medal, pray one Our Father each in honor of St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and your guardian angel.
- Close. Say the anthem to St. Michael, the versicle and response, and the closing prayer.
If you do not have chaplet beads, count on your fingers or use a rosary: nine groups of one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then four Our Fathers.
The chaplet beads
A St. Michael chaplet is a short string of beads joined to a medal of the archangel. It has nine sets of beads, one for each choir of angels. Each set is a single bead for the Our Father followed by three beads for the Hail Marys, so there are 36 beads in the nine sets. Four more beads hang between the medal and the circle for the four closing Our Fathers. The medal usually shows St. Michael defeating the dragon, after Revelation 12:7–9. Like a rosary, the chaplet is a sacramental. It helps you pray and has no power apart from faith and prayer (CCC 1667, 2111).
The full text of the chaplet
The leader says the lines marked V. and everyone answers with the lines marked R. “Etc.” means that the whole prayer is said.
Opening
V. Incline unto my aid, O God.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
First salutation: the Seraphim
Pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then:
By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of the Seraphim, may it please God to make us worthy to receive into our hearts the fire of his perfect charity. Amen.
Second salutation: the Cherubim
Pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then:
By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of the Cherubim, may God, in his good pleasure, grant us grace to abandon the ways of sin, and follow the path of Christian perfection. Amen.
Third salutation: the Thrones
Pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then:
By the intercession of St. Michael and the sacred choir of the Thrones, may it please God to infuse into our hearts the spirit of true and sincere humility. Amen.
Fourth salutation: the Dominations
Pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then:
By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of the Dominations, may it please God to grant us grace to have dominion over our senses, and to correct our depraved passions. Amen.
Fifth salutation: the Powers
Pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then:
By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of the Powers, may God vouchsafe to keep our souls from the wiles and temptations of the devil. Amen.
Sixth salutation: the Virtues
Pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then:
By the intercession of St. Michael and the choir of the admirable heavenly Virtues, may it please God to keep us from falling into temptation, and may he deliver us from evil. Amen.
Seventh salutation: the Principalities
Pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then:
By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of the Principalities, may it please God to fill our souls with the spirit of true and sincere obedience. Amen.
Eighth salutation: the Archangels
Pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then:
By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of Archangels, may it please God to grant us the gift of perseverance in the faith and in all good works, that we may thereby be enabled to attain the glory of paradise. Amen.
Ninth salutation: all the Angels
Pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then:
By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of all the angels, may God vouchsafe to grant us their guardianship through this mortal life, and after death a happy entrance into the everlasting glory of heaven. Amen.
Four Our Fathers
Pray the Our Father four times: the first in honor of St. Michael, the second of St. Gabriel, the third of St. Raphael and the fourth of your guardian angel.
Anthem to St. Michael
Michael, glorious prince, chief and champion of the heavenly host, guardian of the souls of men, conqueror of the rebel angels, steward of the palace of God under Jesus Christ, our worthy leader, endowed with superhuman excellence and virtue: vouchsafe to free us all from every ill, who with full confidence have recourse to thee; and by thy incomparable protection enable us to make progress every day in the faithful service of our God.
V. Pray for us, most blessed Michael, prince of the Church of Jesus Christ.
R. That we may be made worthy of his promises.
Closing prayer
Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, who in thine own marvellous goodness and pity didst, for the common salvation of man, choose the glorious archangel Michael to be the prince of thy Church: make us worthy, we pray thee, to be delivered by his beneficent protection from all our enemies, that, at the hour of our death, none of them may approach to harm us; rather do thou vouchsafe unto us that, by the same archangel Michael, we may be introduced into the presence of thy most high and divine majesty. Through the merits of the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
If you need the words of the Our Father and Hail Mary, see the Our Father and the Hail Mary.
The nine choirs of angels
The chaplet asks one grace through each of the nine choirs. Scripture names these ranks of angels in several places, and Christian writers such as Pseudo-Dionysius and St. Gregory the Great arranged them into nine choirs. The Church has never defined their order, and the chaplet follows its own.
| Salutation | Choir | Grace asked | Where Scripture names them |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seraphim | Perfect charity | Isaiah 6:2 |
| 2 | Cherubim | To leave sin and seek holiness | Genesis 3:24 |
| 3 | Thrones | True humility | Colossians 1:16 |
| 4 | Dominations | Mastery over the senses and passions | Colossians 1:16 |
| 5 | Powers | Protection from the devil’s snares | Colossians 1:16 |
| 6 | Virtues | Deliverance from temptation and evil | Ephesians 1:21 |
| 7 | Principalities | Obedience | Colossians 1:16 |
| 8 | Archangels | Perseverance in faith and good works | Jude 1:9 |
| 9 | Angels | Their guardianship in life and a happy death | Matthew 18:10 |
The Catechism teaches that angels are “personal and immortal creatures” (CCC 330) and that “from infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession” (CCC 336).
Where the chaplet comes from
According to the tradition that comes with the chaplet, St. Michael appeared in the mid-eighteenth century to Antonia d’Astonac, a Portuguese Carmelite nun. He asked to be honored with nine salutations to the nine choirs of angels. He promised that whoever practiced this devotion before Holy Communion would be accompanied to the altar by an angel from each choir, and that those who prayed it daily would have his help and that of all the holy angels throughout life.
This is a private revelation. The Church does not require anyone to believe it, and such revelations add nothing to the faith (CCC 67). What the Church did approve is the prayer itself. On August 8, 1851, Blessed Pius IX granted indulgences to everyone who prayed the chaplet, and it was printed in the Raccolta. Indulgences are no longer counted in days and years, so the numbers printed in old prayer books no longer apply. That system was replaced in 1967.
Many people today first learned the chaplet from recordings led by Mother Angelica of EWTN.
St. Michael in Scripture and in the Church
Michael’s name is a question: “Who is like God?” Scripture calls him “one of the chief princes” and the great prince who stands guard over God’s people (Daniel 10:13, 12:1). It also calls him “the archangel” who contended with the devil (Jude 1:9), and shows him leading the angels who cast the dragon out of heaven (Revelation 12:7–9). Catholics keep his feast with St. Gabriel and St. Raphael on September 29, and the feast of the Guardian Angels on October 2.
In 1886 Pope Leo XIII added a prayer to St. Michael to the prayers said after Low Mass. You will find that prayer, with its history, on our St. Michael prayer page. The chaplet is longer. It asks for the virtues the soul needs, and protection from evil is only one of them.
When to pray the chaplet
- Daily, especially in a time of temptation or spiritual struggle.
- On Tuesdays, the weekday many Catholics devote to the holy angels.
- As a novena before the feast of the Archangels: begin on September 20 and finish on September 28. See how to pray a novena.
- During “St. Michael’s Lent,” the forty days from the Assumption (August 15) to Michaelmas (September 29), which St. Francis of Assisi kept with fasting and prayer.
- Before Mass or Holy Communion, in keeping with the promise attached to the chaplet.
- For someone you love, especially a person who is far from God, tempted or in danger.
A short prayer to begin
This prayer was written for this guide. You may say it before the opening versicle.
St. Michael, I offer this chaplet in honor of God and of all his holy angels.
Teach me to say with you, “Who is like God?”
Help me to choose what is good, to resist what is evil,
and to serve the Lord faithfully today. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the Chaplet of St. Michael take?
About fifteen to twenty minutes when prayed at a steady pace. It has 13 Our Fathers and 27 Hail Marys, with the opening, the petitions and the closing prayers.
Do I need special beads?
No. The beads help you keep count, but you can pray the chaplet on your fingers or on a rosary.
Is the Chaplet of St. Michael approved by the Church?
Yes. Blessed Pius IX approved and indulgenced it in 1851, and it appears in the Raccolta. The story of how it began is a private revelation, which Catholics are free to accept or not.
What is the difference between the chaplet and the St. Michael prayer?
The St. Michael prayer is one short prayer asking the archangel to defend us in battle. The chaplet is a longer devotion that honors all nine choirs of angels and asks a different grace through each.
Can I pray it for another person?
Yes. Offer it for them at the beginning, or pray the petitions in the plural as written, keeping the person in mind.
More prayers to the angels
- Feast of the Archangels (September 29)
- Novena to St. Michael
- What is a chaplet? All the Catholic chaplets
- The St. Michael prayer
- The Guardian Angel prayer
- Catholic prayers for protection
- The Litany of the Saints, which invokes St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael
- Novenas: how to pray a novena
- Catholic prayers: the basic prayers every Catholic should know
Texts and sources
- Chaplet text: The Raccolta (English translation, 1878), no. 137, “Angelical Crown in honor of S. Michael the Archangel”, public domain. Scan errors repaired, “S. Michael” printed as “St. Michael,” and the directions between the prayers reworded.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 67; 330 and 336; 1667; 2111.
- Isaiah 6:2; Genesis 3:24; Colossians 1:16; Ephesians 1:21; Jude 1:9; Matthew 18:10; Daniel 10:13, 12:1; Revelation 12:7–9.