Who is like unto God? This was the battle cry issued by Saint Michael the Archangel at the beginning of the first war in history, a war which will be fought until the end of time. That is the struggle between the children of God and the children of the Lucifer, that old serpent.
It is no surprise, then, that this glorious champion of God’s cause in heaven would be a suitable patron for those devoted to His most sacred cause on Earth.
Devotion to Saint Michael flourished in the Middle Ages, particularly among the monastic orders as they viewed themselves as warriors of Christ. It follows naturally that these spiritual “special forces” in the combat for the salvation of souls would name their monasteries and shrines after Saint Michael the Archangel.