St. Raphael the Archangel: Patron Saint of Healing
You are here because someone you love is sick, or because you are sick yourself, and you want a name to say out loud when the words of a prayer will not come. That name can be Raphael. He is not a distant figure. He is the angel God sent to walk a road with a frightened young man, and to heal an old man's eyes.
Maybe the surgery is already scheduled. Maybe the diagnosis came last week and you are still catching your breath. You do not need to pretend you are not afraid. You just need to know who to ask, and why the Church trusts him.
Who Is St. Raphael?
Raphael is one of the three archangels named in Scripture, together with Michael and Gabriel. His name appears only in the Book of Tobit, one of the deuterocanonical books. The name itself is a sentence: God heals. Christian tradition has long called him the medicine of God, which is a strange title for an angel until you read what he actually does.
He is not a saint in the way Francis or Therese are saints. Angels are not human beings, so they are never canonised. The Church venerates them with a lesser honour called dulia, and she asks their intercession the way she asks any holy creature to pray for us. Worship belongs to God alone. That distinction matters, and we will come back to it.
If you have been looking through the saints Catholics turn to when they are sick, you may have noticed how many of them are ordinary people who suffered. Raphael is different. He is a servant of God who was sent on a journey, and the journey is the whole story.
What Raphael Does in the Book of Tobit
Tobit is a righteous Israelite who goes blind after sparrow droppings fall into his eyes. He had left money with a relative in Media, and now he sends his son Tobias to recover it. God sends Raphael, who travels in the disguise of a man named Azariah and is hired as a guide. Tobias has no idea who is walking beside him.
At the river Tigris a large fish attacks the boy. Raphael tells him to catch it and to keep its heart, liver and gall. Later, burning the heart and liver drives away the demon Asmodeus, who had killed the seven previous husbands of Sarah, the woman Tobias marries. Then Raphael takes Tobias home, and on his father's eyes the young man spreads the fish gall. Tobit sees again.
Only at the end does Raphael reveal himself: I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand before the Lord. Tobit's family falls on their faces. Notice that Raphael never claims the healing as his own. He is a messenger and a servant. The healing comes from God, and Raphael is the hand that carries it.
Why He Is the Patron of Healing
The Church names Raphael the patron of healing and of the sick, of doctors, nurses and pharmacists, of travellers, of the blind, and of young people who leave home to travel. That list is not random. It is the Book of Tobit read back to us. A blind father. A dangerous road. A young man far from home. A remedy that works.
His feast day is 29 September, together with Michael and Gabriel. In the older Traditional Latin calendar Raphael is remembered on 24 October. If you have ever prayed with St. Peregrine, the patron of cancer patients, you already know how the Church likes to give us companions for specific fears. Raphael is the companion for the road and for the body that will not heal.
Devotion to him is quiet but old. People ask him to ride with the ambulance. Nurses say his name before a shift. Families about to travel ask him to go ahead of them. He is also, in a small way, the patron of anyone standing at a hospital entrance with a bag in hand, not sure what the next hour will bring.
The Prayer to St. Raphael for Healing
A short traditional aspiration: St Raphael, Angel of Healing, pray for us. You can say it in a breath. Say it in the car. Say it while the surgeon is scrubbing in.
There is also a longer prayer that many Catholics use, and you can pray it for a named person before surgery: Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, you were sent by God to guide young Tobias on a long and dangerous journey and to bring healing to his father's eyes. I ask you now to stand beside N., who is about to undergo surgery. Guide the hands of those who will care for him. Ask God to steady his heart and to give him rest. Present my petition, and whatever the outcome, help us to trust the Lord who heals. Amen.
If you want more words for that day, prayer before and after surgery has prayers for the waiting room and for the recovery bed. You can also pray the guardian angel prayer for the person you love. God has never been stingy with angels.
Is It Right to Pray to an Angel?
Yes, and the Church has always done it, but with care. Angels are not canonised human beings. They are pure spirits who see God face to face, and the honour we give them is dulia, a lesser honour. Worship, which is called latria, belongs to God alone. When Tobit's family fell on their faces, Raphael told them to rise and to bless God, not him.
The Church permits and encourages devotion to the archangels. She does not permit anything that treats an angel like a charm or a fortune teller. You are not commanding Raphael. You are asking a friend of God to pray for you, the same way you would ask a friend in the next room.
Some people worry that praying to angels is superstition. It becomes superstition only when we stop at the angel and forget the God who sent him. Keep your eyes on the One who heals. Let Raphael walk beside you on the way.
What Raphael Does Not Promise
Raphael is a messenger and an intercessor. He is not a healer in his own power. In Tobit he acts as God's servant, and the healing belongs to God. So there is no formula here. No number of prayers that forces a cure. No deal you can strike. If someone tells you otherwise, they are selling something the Church does not sell.
Medicine is not the opposite of faith. Doctors, nurses and pharmacists are among the people Raphael is asked to watch over. The Anointing of the Sick is one of the seven sacraments, and it is meant for the body as well as the soul. You can take the medicine and ask the angel to pray. You can also prepare with the Catholic prayers for healing if you want words that the Church herself has used for centuries.
And the outcome is in God's hands. Sometimes the eyes open, as Tobit's did. Sometimes they do not, and we bury someone we love. Raphael walked the road with Tobias, and he will walk it with you. Trust God with the ending. Ask for healing. Ask for courage. Ask for peace. The angel will carry the prayer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the patron saint of healing?
St. Raphael the Archangel is the patron of healing and of the sick. His name means God heals, and the Book of Tobit shows him healing Tobit's blindness. The Church also names him patron of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, travellers, the blind, and young people leaving home. Many people also pray to St. Peregrine for cancer and to other saints for particular illnesses.
Is Raphael a saint or an angel?
Raphael is an archangel, not a canonised human being. Angels are pure spirits and are never canonised. The Church venerates them with a lesser honour called dulia, and asks their intercession. Worship, called latria, belongs to God alone. So Catholics do pray to Raphael, but always as a creature asking God, not as a god.
When is St. Raphael's feast day?
His feast day is 29 September, celebrated together with the archangels Michael and Gabriel. In the older Traditional Latin calendar, Raphael is remembered separately on 24 October. Both dates are old, and neither is a holy day of obligation. Many parishes keep the 29 September Mass with the other two archangels.
What is St. Raphael the patron of?
He is the patron of healing and of the sick, of doctors, nurses and pharmacists, of travellers, of the blind, and of young people who leave home to travel. Each of these comes from the Book of Tobit: a blind father healed, a long journey, a young man sent far from home, and a remedy that worked.
What is the prayer to St. Raphael for healing?
A short aspiration is: St Raphael, Angel of Healing, pray for us. A longer prayer asks him to guide and heal a named person, especially before surgery, and to present the petition to God. Catholics often add the guardian angel prayer or a prayer for surgery recovery. The Church asks him to intercede; God gives the healing.