St. Michael Prayer, Long and Short
Date: June 22, 2025
Author: Fr. Edward McNamara, LC
Question: Can the laity pray the long version of the St. Michael Prayer? Some say yes, others say no. Could you please clarify? — D.K.
Answer: The short prayer to St. Michael was introduced by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. He added this prayer to other prayers, generically called the Leonine prayers, which he had mandated to be prayed after every low Mass to pray for the protection and independence of the Church. They were commonly recited until 1964, after which the obligation was removed. The text is:
“Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection 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, thrust into Hell Satan and all of the other evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”
While no longer obligatory at Mass, the above prayer is popular among many Catholics who invoke St. Michael’s intercession, and its use was recommended by St. John Paul II and Pope Francis.
A quite different prayer to St. Michael, the “Exorcism against Satan and the apostate angels,” to be used as part of a rite of exorcism, was published in the 1890−1891 edition of Acta Sanctae Sedis (pages 743-747).
This formula was for the exclusive use of bishops and those priests authorized to perform exorcisms. Pope Leo also granted plenary and partial indulgences to the above bishops and priests who devoutly recited the formula daily. An English translation of the text follows:
“O glorious Archangel St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, defend us in battle, and in the struggle which is ours against the principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against spirits of evil in high places (Eph 6:12). Come to the aid of men, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil (Wisdom 2:23–24, 1 Cor 6:20).
“Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there a place for them any longer in Heaven. But that cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with all his angels (Rev 12:7–9).
“Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of man has taken courage, transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of his Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.
“These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions (Lam 3:15). In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most blessed Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered.
“Arise then, O invincible prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and bring them the victory. The Church venerates thee as protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of this world and of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude.
“Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.”
An abbreviated version of this prayer to St. Michael was included as part of the revised Roman Ritual promulgated in 1898. This briefer text is:
“Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies,
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in "our battle against principalities and powers,
against the rulers of this world of darkness,
against the spirits of wickedness
in the high places" [Eph. 6:12].
“Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His likeness
and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil.
The Holy Church venerates you as her guardian and protector;
to you, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into heaven.
“Pray therefore the God of Peace
to crush Satan beneath our feet,
that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church.
Offer our prayers to the Most High,
that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us;
take hold of ‘the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan,’
‘bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit’
that he may no longer seduce the nations. [Rev. 20:2-3]”
The above text is still found in the current rite of exorcism as part of appendix 1. This appendix is accompanied by the following explanatory rubric:
“Prayers and exorcism for use in particular circumstances of the church.
“The Devil and other demons can not only afflict persons (by temptation and vexation), but also places and objects, and can cause various forms of opposition and persecution of the Church. If the diocesan Bishop, in the particular circumstances, judges it opportune to announce meetings for the faithful to pray, under the guidance and direction of the priest, selected prayers and directives can be taken from the following pages.”
Hence, the longer form of the prayer to St. Michael has, from the very beginning, been reserved to bishops and authorized priests. This is still the current law and was reinforced by a letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith dated September 29, 1985. To wit:
“1. Canon 1172 of the Code of Canon Law states that no one can legitimately perform exorcisms over the possessed unless he has obtained special and express permission from the local Ordinary (§ 1), and states that this permission should be granted by the local Ordinary only to priests who are endowed with piety, knowledge, prudence and integrity of life (§ 2). Bishops are therefore strongly advised to stipulate that these norms be observed.
“2. From these prescriptions it follows that it is not even licit that the faithful use the formula of exorcism against Satan and the fallen angels, extracted from the one published by order of the Supreme Pontiff Leo XIII, and even less that they use the integral text of this exorcism. Bishops should take care to warn the faithful, if necessary, of this.”
In spite of this, many Internet sites continue to recommend the personal use of the longer form as a private prayer. Some even claim that this position was privately affirmed on behalf of the then Cardinal Ratzinger in a 1987 letter from his secretary. If authentic, it would not be an official magisterial document although worthy of consideration.
In 2020 a note from the International Association of Exorcists, published in Italian, recalled the prohibition of lay use of this prayer and issued a warning:
“We point out, on the basis of common exorcistic experience, that the illegitimate and improper use by priests and lay faithful of every exorcistic formula reserved for the liturgical sphere, including the exorcism of Leo XIII, can have more or less serious spiritual consequences, including occasionally becoming the cause of extraordinary diabolical disturbances.”
Some theologians have questioned the restrictive position of the association, but even these recognize that this prayer requires prudence and care before use.
Therefore, although some could claim the legitimacy of a strictly private use, the weight of the arguments would seem to be in favor of the negative response.
Appendix 2 of the exorcism rite, however, also contains “Prayers which may be used privately by the faithful in the struggle against the powers of darkness.” Thus, these may be used at any time. They are: five “collect”-style prayers to God; a short litany of invocations of the Holy Trinity; a long litany of invocations of Jesus; short invocations to the Lord with the sign of the Cross; invocations of the Blessed Virgin Mary, including the Sub tuum and Memorare; the well-known shorter prayer to St. Michael; and a short litany of saints.
If the private use of the Leonine prayer could be contemplated, then there would be little reason to distinguish between the two appendixes.
Note that here the use of the expressions private and public have a more technical meaning than in common parlance.
A public rite or prayer is one authorized and celebrated in the name of and under the authority of the Church. Because of this, when the text says for private use, it is not limited to when one is alone but rather refers to a non-liturgical context. Hence the above prayers, and others that are similar in structure and content, can be used by prayer groups of various kinds.
With respect to this topic in the context of prayer groups, Father Gareth Leyshon, from Cardiff, in an excellent explanation related to this subject, makes the following comment:
“At what point does a prayerful gathering of laity, with or without clergy present, become public? It would clearly be a public act to publish a poster, or an open invitation on the Internet, saying ‘We are gathering in such-and-such a place at this time and date to pray these prayers.’ It would also be a public act to make use of the prayers from Appendix II without prior warning, at a prayer meeting which had been advertised on social media or to all the members of a parish. It is arguable that personal invitation is not a public act, and so a closed group — e.g. the members of a confraternity, or a group of friends who mutually agreed to pray in this way — might legitimately gather to use the restricted prayers in Appendix II. It is a principle of Canon Law, #18 (LT IT SP), that restrictive laws must be interpreted as liberally as possible.” See:https://www.drgareth.info/Deliverance-X.pdf.
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