Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

Whether we like it or not, we battle against the devil daily.

St. Peter said “be sober and watch, because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). St. Paul calls us to surround ourselves with the "armor of God" in his letter to the Ephesians. Prayer and the sacraments are the essential parts of this armor-- for God allows Satan's temptations, but not without equipping us with the grace to fight the devil.

In 1890, Pope Leo XIII had a vision of devils being released from hell and trying to destroy the Church. Then, St. Michael the Archangel appeared and cast Satan and his legions back into hell. The Holy Father wrote a prayer out of this vision and asked that it be recited after every mass.

In his Regina Coeli address on April 24, 1994, the late Pope John Paul II said of this prayer:
"I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world."'

The Prayer to St. Michael is no longer recited after the mass but the faithful are highly encouraged to include it in their daily prayers.

Here's the short version:

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Sancte Michael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio;
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.