O glorious St. Michael, guardian and defender of the Church of Jesus Christ, come to the assistance of this Church, against which the powers of hell are unchained, guard with especial care her ...

St. Michael, the Archangel! Glorious prince, chief and champion of the heavenly hosts; guardian of the souls of men; conqueror of the rebel angels! How beautiful art thou, in thy heaven-made armor.

The Prayer to St. Michael was a regular feature of the Mass until the Vatican II era, though Pope John Paul II in 1994 urged Catholics to make the prayer a regular part of their lives.

I’ll always remember the day my eldest son came home from kindergarten reciting the Angel of God prayer. Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here… I’m a convert.

Pope Francis said the statue of St. Michael with his sword piercing the devil is "an invitation to reflection and prayer." "Michael fights to re-establish divine justice," he said.

He said the St. Michael’s prayer does not reach that bar. Father Ruff noted that the Roman rite is “rigorously theocentric” and has relatively little invocation of Mary or the saints.

Background: Bonifacio de’ Pitati, “St. Michael the Archangel,” oil on canvas, 1530, ... Beside You Stands a Guardian Angel — a Protector and Shepherd Leading You to Life ...