⚔️ St. Michael's Lent — Origin & History
What Is It?
St. Michael's Lent is a forty-day period of prayer, fasting, and penance in honor of St. Michael the Archangel, which runs from August 15th, the Solemnity of the Assumption, to September 29th — the Feast of the Archangels. Traditional counting excludes Sundays, mirroring the Church's method for Easter Lent.
📜 The Origins — St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi popularized St. Michael's Lent in the early 13th century. His deep devotion to St. Michael the Archangel inspired this practice. Francis saw St. Michael as the defender of God's people and leader of the heavenly host.
In his 13th-century Life of St. Francis, St. Bonaventure notes that St. Francis had "an especial love and devotion" for St. Michael because Michael's "is the ministry of bringing souls before God."
Each year, St. Francis observed these 40 days with intense prayer and fasting. In 1224, he traveled to Mount La Verna in Italy to spend St. Michael's Lent in solitude. During this retreat, Francis received the stigmata — Christ's wounds appearing in his own body. This miraculous event transformed St. Michael's Lent into a cornerstone of Franciscan spirituality.
🏛️ Deeper Medieval Roots
From the fifth century through the Middle Ages, the Church celebrated a liturgical feast honoring the dedication of a basilica in Rome to St. Michael — and to prepare for it, Catholics practiced penance. This ancient instinct — that a great feast deserves a great preparation — is the heartbeat behind St. Michael's Lent. All feast days in medieval Catholicism were preceded by a time of penance to prepare for them.
🌿 A Franciscan Tradition — And a Growing Revival
While not an official liturgical season in the Church, the devotion and observance of St. Michael's Lent was carried on by the Franciscans. Among the laity, the practice has ebbed and flowed in the centuries following St. Francis' life. And in recent years, the tradition has resurged.
Despite not being part of the Church's official liturgical calendar, this devotion is a rich opportunity to immerse oneself in prayer and penance, as St. Francis did, in order to draw even closer to the Lord.
🛡️ How to Observe It
There are no mandatory rules, but the spirit is the same as Lent:
- Prayer — There is no more powerful prayer to St. Michael than the one recommended by Pope Leo XIII to be recited at the end of every low Mass: "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil."
- Devotion to Our Lady — St. Francis also designated this as a time of fervent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Fasting & Penance — This 40-day devotion is a chance to deepen your faith, grow in humility, and seek protection in spiritual warfare.
- Confession & Mass — Making a renewed effort to go to confession and, where possible, attend daily Mass are integral parts of having a spiritually beneficial St. Michael's Lent.
✨ Why It Matters
The timing creates a spiritual journey from the Queen of Heaven to her celestial defenders — beginning under the mantle of Mary's Assumption and ending at the feet of the great Archangel on Michaelmas. It is a season deliberately placed between two of Heaven's greatest warriors.
St. Michael's Lent is a reminder that the spiritual battle is not seasonal — it is constant. The enemy does not take a summer break, and neither should the soul.
Worth sitting with: St. Francis received the stigmata — the most intimate possible sharing in the Passion of Christ — precisely during a period of radical penance and prayer dedicated to St. Michael. What might God be waiting to give you in the hidden places of your own interior life, if only you would create the conditions for Him to act?
Download Truthly, the Catholic AI app. Get on-demand answers to questions, be inspired daily, and learn to share the truth with confidence.
