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Dear catholic.com visitors: This Catholic Answers website, with all its free resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. We receive no funding from the institutional Church and rely entirely on your generosity to sustain this website with trustworthy, accessible content. If every visitor this month donated $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.
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Q&A

Why pray to angels?

Fr. Vincent Serpa O.P.

Question:

I’m not sure I understand praying to angels for support. Unlike saints, who are part of the Body of Christ, angels have a different nature. Can you help me with the teachings on this and where they originated?

Answer:

The angels are spiritual beings who have a free will and an intellect that is far superior to ours. The evil ones dwell in hell; the holy ones dwell in heaven and are therefore considered to be saints. Whoever is in heaven is a saint. God uses angels as messengers, guardians, and all-around helpers to us—as well as to reflect his glory. In Tobit 12:12, the Archangel Raphael said to Tobias, “So now when you and Sarah prayed, it was I who brought and read the record of your prayer before the glory of the Lord, and likewise whenever you would bury the dead.” In Tobit 12:14-16, we read, “And at the same time God sent me to heal you and Sarah your daughter-in-law. I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord. The two of them were shaken; they fell face down, for they were afraid.” For more, see the Catholic Encyclopedia entry on angels at www.newadvent.org.

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