The Holy Guardian Angels

Scripture speaks often of angels who protect God's people. God promised Israel, "I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way" (Exodus 23:20), and the psalmist sings that God commands his angels to guard us in all our ways (Psalm 91). Jesus himself warned against despising the little ones, "for their angels in heaven always behold the face of my heavenly Father" (Matthew 18:10).

From these words the Church has always taught that every person has a guardian angel from the beginning of life until death. Devotion to the guardian angels grew strongly in the Middle Ages and in Spain and Portugal especially. A feast in their honor spread through the sixteenth century, and in 1670 Pope Clement X extended it to the whole Church, later fixing it on October 2.

Children learn the short prayer "Angel of God, my guardian dear" (in Spanish, "Ángel de mi guarda, dulce compañía"), often their very first prayer, said at bedtime and before trips.

Many families give a guardian angel medal at baptism or First Communion, and parents bless their children with a small prayer to their angel as they leave for school.