page_title: Saint Michael in the Catholic Church
section_title: Patronage
hierarchical_section_title: Saint Michael in the Catholic Church / Veneration / Patronage
caption_attribution_description: St. Michael's Church in Hammerfest, the world's northernmost Catholic church.
context_page_description: Saint Michael the Archangel is referenced in the Old Testament and has been part of Christian teachings since the earliest times. In Catholic writings and traditions he acts as the defender of the Church and chief opponent of Satan, and assists persons at the hour of death.
  A widely used "Prayer to Saint Michael" was brought into official use by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and was recommended by Pope John Paul II in 1994. The feast day of the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael is September 29.
context_section_description: Michael the Archangel is the patron saint of grocers, mariners, paratroopers, police officers, and military personnel.
  A large number of Roman Catholic churches around the globe are dedicated to Saint Michael, from Hammerfest, Norway, to Oeste Catarinense in Brazil. Saint Michael's feast day of September 29 has been solemnly celebrated in many locations since the fifth century. And many churches that honor Saint Michael are dedicated on the 29th of September, e.g., Pope Boniface IV dedicated Saint Michael's Church in Rome on that day in 610.
caption: St. Michael's church in Hammerfest, Norway, the northernmost Catholic church in the world
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