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St Michael Prayer in Latin

Sancte Michael Archangele: Pope Leo XIII's prayer to St Michael in the Latin he wrote it in, said after every Low Mass from 1886 until the 1960s.

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in praelio; contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur: tuque, Princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen.

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. We humbly beseech God to command him; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the divine power thrust into hell Satan and the other evil spirits who roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Latin from Manuale sacerdotum ad altare (1889)

From the Little Month of November (1912)

In English: Prayer to St Michael the Archangel

How to pronounce Church Latin

The Church says Latin the Roman way, close to Italian. These rules cover the sounds you will meet in the prayers here. (Classical Latin, taught in many schools, sounds different: c and g are always hard.)

Vowels
a as in father, e as in met, i as in machine, o as in or, u as in rule. Every vowel is sounded: Dei is DEH-ee.
ae, oe
Said like e: caeli is CHEH-lee, saecula is SEH-koo-lah.
c
Like ch in church before e, i, ae and oe: caeli is CHEH-lee, caelestis is cheh-LEH-stees. Hard, like k, elsewhere (culpa).
g
Soft, like g in gem, before e and i (Genitrix, jeh-NEE-trix); hard elsewhere (gloria).
gn
Like ny in canyon: regnum is REH-nyoom, agnus is AH-nyoos.
h
Silent (hodie, AW-dee-eh), except in mihi and nihil, where it sounds as k.
j, or i before a vowel
Like y in yes: Iesus (Jesus) is YEH-soos, eius is EH-yoos.
qu
Like kw: qui is kwee, quotidianum is kwoh-tee-dee-AH-noom.
sc
Like sh before e and i: descendit is deh-SHEN-deet.
ti
Like tsee before a vowel: gratia is GRAH-tsee-ah, tentationem is ten-tah-tsee-OH-nem.
ch, ph, th
ch is k (Christus), ph is f (prophetas), th is t (catholicam).
xc
Like ksh before e and i: excelsis is ek-SHEL-sees.

Questions

How do I pronounce Church Latin?

Mostly as Italian: c before e or i is ch, g before e or i is soft, gn is ny, ae and oe are e, and ti before a vowel is tsee. The guide on this page lists the rules with examples.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print card prints the Latin with the English beside it, on one page.

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