Angels in the Catechism of the Church

What does the Catechism of the Church say about angels?

Angels are addressed in a particular way in paragraph 5 (Heaven and Earth) of Article 1 of the second section (The Profession of the Christian Faith, The Symbols of Faith) of the first part of the Catechism, numbers 328 to 336.

Discover the main questions and answers about angels from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. At the end of this reading, we invite you to discover other great questions of faith.

 

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What do we know about Angels?

On the subject of angels, the Catechism of the Catholic Church allows us to understand that :

Angels are a truth of faith (No. 328)

Angels are non-bodily spiritual beings (No. 328)

Angels are servants and messengers of God (Nos. 329 and 331)

Angels are purely spiritual creatures (No. 330)

Angels are intelligent and free creatures like men (No. 311)

Angels are personal and immortal creatures: “they surpass in perfection all visible creatures (No. 330)

Angels have intelligence and will (No. 330) and “must walk towards their ultimate destiny by free choice and love of preference” (No. 311)

Angels are spiritual creatures who constantly glorify God and serve His saving purposes towards other creatures: “Angels concur in all that is good for us” (No. 350)

Angels surround Christ, their Lord. They serve him particularly in the accomplishment of his mission of salvation towards men" (No. 351)

“Heaven” indicates the “place” of spiritual creatures – angels “(No. 326)

The Church venerates the angels who help her in her earthly pilgrimage and who protect every human being” (No. 352)

The angels evangelize” (Luke 2:10) by proclaiming the Good News of the Incarnation, and of the Resurrection of Christ.“ (No. 333)

They will be there at the return of Christ whom they announce, at the service of his judgment” (No. 333)

Angels bring a “mysterious and powerful help” to the life of the Church (No. 334)

The Fourth Lateran Council defined that there are Angels.

And the fallen angels?

Among the Angels, there are those who are called fallen, because they freely refused to serve God and try to associate man with their revolt against God. Catechism number 391 says that “the devil and the other demons were certainly created by God naturally good, but they are the ones who made themselves evil” (No. 391). To learn more about these fallen angels, we invite you to read our article on Satan.

And guardian angels?

Number 336 of the Catechism tells us: “Each believer has at his side an angel as protector and pastor to lead him to life.” (No. 336).

In addition to the catechism, here is what Benedict XVI said about the angels: “The invisible presence of these blessed spirits is a great help, and a great comfort: they walk beside us, they protect us, in all circumstances, they defend us in dangers, and we can have recourse to them at any time. 

With Hozana, let us pray to our guardian angel!

With Hozana, let us pray to our guardian angel to help us and defend us against all temptations, especially those of the fallen angels or demons. We offer several communities, where you can  dedicate novena to your guardian angel or spend every other day with them.