St. Michael's Day
- Webadmin StMichaels
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
“Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals…” (Collect for the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, BCP 244)
If you didn’t grow up in the Episcopal Church, Roman Catholic Church, or Orthodox Church, it may come as a surprise to learn that all the saints have “days.” Sure, you’ve heard of St. Patrick’s Day, but what about St. David’s Day, St. Lucy’s Day, or St. Michael’s Day?
For most saints, the saint’s day is the day that person died. That day is a festival day, a feast day, a “red letter day” (red being the color of martyrs) because on that day, the person entered the nearer presence of God. St. Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of St. Patrick, is March 17 because Patrick died on March 17, 461. Depending on how long ago the saint lived, the date might be a little harder to pin down and a little more of a guess.
For St. Michael, it is even trickier. Michael is an angel. He never lived as a human. He didn’t die.
When early Christians named churches for saints, it was often because they had some relic of the saint on site. If you didn’t have a relic, Michael and Mary were good options for patron saints, because no church could claim relics of those saints. The Basilica of St. Michael near Rome was consecrated on September 29 in the middle of the 6th century. (History recorded the day but not the year.) Since that time, September 29 has been remembered as the Feast of St. Michael in the west.
“All Angels” were added to Holy Michael’s Day in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. Michael remains the headliner but shares the day with all other angels. (The Roman Catholic Church also made this change, but not until the 1960s.)
When we celebrate the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, we give thanks to God for creating angels. We remember and celebrate Michael and All Angels for their service to God. We also celebrate our church and remind ourselves that with Michael and All Angels as our patrons, we are to follow their example of faithful service.
*Source: Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 2011
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