"Angel of God" () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

traditional

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

for the intercession of the

guardian angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary deity, tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played ...

, often taught to young children as the first prayer learned. It serves as a reminder of God's love, and by enjoining the guardian angel to support the child in a loving way, the prayer echoes God's abiding love. The original Latin prayer consists of two rhyming couplets. The customary English form of the prayer is metrical as well as rhyming. In many languages the customary form of the prayer is a direct prose translation of the Latin, while in others (for instance Polish) a poetic translation predominates.

Origins

The prayer was originally ascribed to St Anselm of Canterbury, although later scholarship now ascribes it to the inspiration of

Reginald of Canterbury Reginald of Canterbury (died after 1109) was a medieval French writer and Benedictine monk who lived and wrote in England in the very early part of the 12th century. He was the author of a number of Latin poems, including an epic entitled ''Malchus ...

, who was a contemporary of Anselm. A prayer with numerous similarities to the Angel of God prayer is found in Reginald's Life of St Malchus, and it is thought the current prayer is derived from that written by Reginald. The prayer invokes the protection of a guardian angel. In Catholic theology, angels act as messengers of God, and out of God's mercy a guardian angel is assigned to each soul to protect them through their life from spiritual dangers.

Latin text

English version

Indulgence

This type of indulgence was suppressed by the '' Indulgentiarum Doctrina'' of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. However, the '' Enchiridion Indulgentiarum'' of 2004 grants partial

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

to the faithful who have piously recited one of the prayers approved by the Church for the guardian angel (e.g. the ''Angele Dei'').''Enchiridion Indulgentiarum'', ''Concessiones'', n°. 18, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 4th edition, 2004, p. 65. . Quote in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: "''Partialis indulgentia'' conceditur christifideli qui proprium Angelum custodem prece legittime approvata pie invocaverit (e.g. ''Angele Dei'')".

Origins

Latin text

English version

Indulgence

References

Further reading