The rosary of Archangel Michael

2 October 2023

Tempo di lettura: 7 minuti

The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. Let’s know better the Rosary of St. Michael the Archangel, its power, the promises that the devotion to the Archangel guarantees, and the prayer.

The Rosary of St. Michael the Archangel also called the Rosary of the Angels, or the Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel, is one of the most famous and powerful rosaries of all. We want to remember it in this month of October dedicated to the Rosary, the most effective prayer against Satan, the highest expression of devotion and search for comfort for a Christian.

The reasons that made the month of October the month dedicated to the Rosary are above all historical, as we have already explored in a previous article. It was on 7 October 1571 that one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles between Christians and Ottomans was fought: the battle of Lepanto.

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St Michael chaplet, angelic rosary

Wooden devotional rosary with round beads in honor of St Michael Archangel.

Legend has it that Pope Pius V, after having recommended all the Christian armed forces to recite the Rosary before starting the battle, was so sure of the intercession of the Madonna invoked through the Rosary to decide the outcome of the battle, that he gave the order to ring the bells as a sign of victory even before it ended so that as far as Rome it was known that the Christians had won. As a thank you to the Virgin, the pope subsequently instituted the feast of the Madonna Della Vittoria, which his successor, Gregory XIII, renamed the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary.

october the month of the holy rosary

October: the month of the Holy Rosary
What is the connection between the fall month with what is probably the most important and popular devotional form in the world?

Another battle, of minor historical importance, took place on July 31, 1646, between the Catholic fleet of the Philippines and the Dutch. Also on that occasion, the special protection of the Madonna was invoked through the recitation of the Holy Rosary. The Philippine Islands achieved victory and freedom.

But already in the tenth century, the recitation of the Rosary had begun to be encouraged as a devotional form, especially for men and women who could not read and write. The Carthusians first and the Mendicant orders later promoted the practice of reciting short litany prayers as a manifestation of love and adoration by the humblest people, who turned to God through the sweet intercession of the Virgin.

In the late Middle Ages the Confraternities of the Holy Rosary created by Pietro da Verona, a preacher belonging to the Dominican Order, spread this form of prayer which according to tradition their founder Saint Dominic had learned directly from the Virgin Mary herself, who had given him the gift of first Rosario while he was in Toulouse, to fight the Albigensian heresy. The Virgin had also recommended the fifteen promises to him and had assured him that the Rosary would allow him to stop the heresy without violence.

Today as then, it is Our Lady herself who urges us to recite the Rosary, to perpetrate this act of love and trust towards God. Reciting the Rosary is still a widespread practice today to receive indulgences, thanks to the intercession of Our Lady, to obtain graces for oneself and for one’s loved ones, but also a way to pray for the salvation of the world, for peace among men.

Why is the Rosary of St. Michael the Archangel famous?

This particular Rosary was allegedly taught by the Archangel Michael himself on the occasion of a private revelation to the Portuguese Carmelite nun Antónia de Astónaco. Antónia d’Astónaco related that the Archangel Michael had urged her to honour God and all the angels by reciting nine special invocations, one for each of the heavenly choirs, together with the Our Father and a sequence of Ave Maria.

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Rosary beads and rosary cases

Here you will find a wide selection of rosary beads. Precious, elegant, simple or collectable.

Thus was born the Rosary of St. Michael the Archangel, which guarantees those who recite it the support of the angels for themselves and their loved ones and after death the liberation from Purgatory for the person in favour of whom the Rosary is said.

In 1851 Pope Pius IX approved this prayer and granted a series of indulgences to those who had recited the chaplet:

Partial indulgence for those who recite this Chaplet with a contrite heart;
Partial indulgence for those who wear the Rosary of St. Michael the Archangel and kiss the medal of the Holy Angels that hangs from it;
Full indulgence for those who recite the Rosary of St. Michael the Archangel once a month provided that on the day chosen for the devotion they are truly contrite, and pray according to the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff (exaltation of the Catholic Church, propagation of the faith, elimination of heresy, conversion of sinners, true harmony among the nations);
Full indulgence for those who recite the Rosary on the occasion of the feasts of the Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel (May 8); for the feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael (29 September) and on the day of the Holy Guardian Angels (2 October).

Chaplet of San Michele Arcangelo

The angelic chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel is made up of nine parts, each including three beads for the Hail Marys and one for the Our Father. Under the cross, there are four beads that symbolize the four Our Father to be recited after the invocation to the nine angelic choirs in honour of the four Archangels and the Guardian Angel.

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Saint Michael Archangel

In Hebrew, the name Michael means “who is like God” and he is famous for having defeated evil forces.

The medal of the pendant depicts on one side St. Michael the Archangel defeating the devil, as we often see in the statues of St. Michael the Archangel, and on the opposite side the Guardian Angel. In fact, this Rosary has among its characteristics that of being very powerful to drive away the Devil and protect the wearer from his enticements and pitfalls.

The prayer of St. Michael the Archangel

Here is the Rosary of St. Michael and the prayers dedicated to the Archangel:

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(holding the crucifix in his fingers)

O God, come and save me. O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning now and forever, forever and ever. Amen.

(starting to shell the first large grain of the Rosary)

At the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial choir of the Seraphim, may the Lord make us worthy of the flame of perfect charity.