Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

 

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Believe it or not, I guessed the name that the new Pope, elected on May 8, 2025, would adopt. My Facebook profile is there to prove that I wrote this, in Portuguese: "Leão XIV... pegaria bem". The name of the Canadian Cardinal Francis LEO, which I thought would be a good choice as Pontiff, led me to choose "Leo XIV" as a good name. I didn't guess who the Pope would be, but I guessed the name he adopted.

I've always been impressed by the incident that led Pope Leo XIII to compose the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel in 1886, to be prayed at the end of every Mass. Unfortunately, the prayer was abolished from Masses after the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council.

This prayer of Leo XIII also made me think of the name the new Pope would adopt. Moreover, he would then be a "xará" of my husband, whose name was Leo. "Xará" is a word popularly used in Brazil, synonymous with homonym.

When the name was pronounced on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, my emotion was immense; the contents of my chest felt like they were swelling and trying to burst out of my mouth. :-) I was truly moved.

I felt I had grasped what prompted the Pope to choose this name. And it wasn't "Rerum Novarum" that came to mind, despite having heard a lot about this encyclical in my youth; nor the revival of Thomism, nor Leo XIII's emphasis on science as perfectly compatible with faith, all very important items, of course.

What touched me deeply was the prayer of Leo XIII, which the world needs so much these days.

And I didn't know what day the Pope would be elected, and didn't know either that day, May 8, was the day of an apparition of Saint Michael the Archangel, in Gargano (around the year 490). Impressive, huh?!

I hope the new Pope will think about this prayer too.

Here is the prayer:

"St. 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, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."