October 2, Guardian Angels

We are all assigned a Guardian Angel at birth and should pray to him to look after us. As Catholics, we know that asking your guardian angel, Mary, or any saint to pray for you is no different than asking friends and family to pray for you. We must also pray to the Father, Son, or Holy Ghost ourselves, but most of us need all the prayers we can get!

The most common prayer, to my knowledge, is

Prayer to Guardian Angel ("Angel of God") / Angele Dei

Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom His love commits me here,
ever this night be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

Latin Version: Angele Dei
Angele Dei, qui custos es mei,
Me tibi commissum pietate superna;
Hodie, Hac nocte illumina,
custodi, rege, et guberna. Amen.


Of course, you substitute "day" for "night" in the morning version of this prayer.

The prayer is taught to children and many adults don't say it but my French godmother said it all her life (she died at 93) and urged me to do the same. I confess I often forget but will try to do better for ma marraine, may she rest in peace.