The Holy Guardian Angels are the heavenly protectors through whose watchful care God accompanies His children. The Church teaches that every believer is aided by an angel who serves God by guarding and guiding that person toward eternal life. As Catholics, we pray this novena in thanksgiving for our guardian angels and for protection, guidance, docility, and perseverance on the path to heaven.
Begin PrayingMore about the Holy Guardian Angels
Belief in guardian angels belongs to the Church’s teaching about God’s providence and the ministry of the angels. Sacred Scripture repeatedly shows angels protecting, guiding, and strengthening God’s servants. In the Book of Exodus, God promises to send an angel before His people to guard them on the way. Christ teaches that the angels of the little ones always behold the face of His Father in heaven. Drawing on Scripture and the constant witness of Tradition, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that human life is surrounded by the watchful care and intercession of the angels from infancy to death, and that beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading that person to life (no. 336).
A guardian angel is not an impersonal force, a private source of revelation, or a substitute for prayer to God. Angels are creatures who contemplate God, obey His will, and help us within His providence. Devotion to a guardian angel therefore teaches gratitude, humility, and attentiveness to the good rather than curiosity about hidden things. Christians may ask their angels for protection and help while testing every inspiration according to the Gospel and the teaching of the Church. A distinct feast in honor of the Guardian Angels developed in the Western Church and was extended to the universal calendar in the seventeenth century. It is celebrated on October 2. The novena is prayed from September 23 through October 1 in preparation for that feast.
