Bishop Paprocki authorizes St. Michael Prayer after Masses.
His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, has authorized the public recitation of the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel — originally composed by the Holy Father Pope Leo XIII in 1886 — following the dismissal at the end of Mass and before the recession. He announced this authorization at the conclusion of the Chrism Mass, April 19, 2011.
Prayer cards with the text of the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel were distributed after every Mass with the newly blessed and consecrated oils to be placed in the pews of the parish churches throughout the Diocese.
In a letter to parish leaders accompanying the cards, Bishop Paprocki explained the reason he has authorized this practice. He wrote: “One of Satan’s greatest assets is his camouflage, the belief that he doesn’t exist. Disbelief in Satan and the forces of evil leave us unable to resist them. That is why it is good to remember the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel. We need to remember that each time we pray we work to defeat our real enemies, not each other, but rather the devil and his evil spirits...
“In recent years, a number of parishes have begun reciting the prayer once more, and many individual Catholics have kept up the practice,” Bishop Paprocki said. “Both John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have urged the faithful to pray it daily, and especially after Mass.”
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