The Holy Guardian Angels

Their story

The Church teaches that God, in His loving care, gives each person an angel to guard and guide them. Jesus Himself spoke of this when He warned against harming little ones: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father." The Psalms promise that God "will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways." The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes St. Basil the Great: "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." From the beginning of our lives to our death, our guardian angel watches over us, protects us from harm, prompts us toward what is good and prays with us and for us. Devotion to the guardian angels grew strong in the Middle Ages, and the feast was celebrated in Spain in the sixteenth century before being extended to the whole Church in 1670. Many children learn the simple prayer that begins "Angel of God, my guardian dear." The feast reminds us that we are never alone, and that God's love surrounds us more closely than we know.