A major pilgrimage will take place on September 27 and 28 in Domrémy, France, to celebrate the 600th anniversary of St. Michael's first apparitions to St. Joan of Arc.
Fr. Pierre Doat, rector of the shrine of Mont Saint-Michel, invites us to draw inspiration from the incredible relationship that the young Lorraine woman forged with the archangel.
“Joan of Arc's mission was made possible thanks to the support and assistance of St. Michael,” he tells Aleteia.
St. Michael first appeared to Joan of Arc in the summer of 1424 or 1425, while she was in her father's garden. She was 12 or 13 years old. (Note, while Michael is an Archangel, he is generally referred to as St. Michael. All holy angels are saints but not all saints are angels! See the reasoning for this here.)
When Michael appeared to Joan, he was accompanied by other “angels of Paradise,” as well as St. Catherine and St. Margaret. Archangel Michael introduced himself as follows: “I am Michael, the protector of France.”
He appeared to her several times. He whispered to her what to reply to the English when she was on trial, and told her what to put on her banner.
As a major pilgrimage is being organized on September 27 and 28 in Domrémy to celebrate the 600th anniversary of St. Michael's first apparitions to St. Joan of Arc, Fr. Pierre Doat, priest of the St. Martin community and rector of the shrine of Mont Saint-Michel, evokes the great closeness that Joan of Arc had with the archangel.
He assures us that this angelic communion, to which all Christians are called, “is not only for the hereafter.”
A life-long relationship
Aleteia: To what extent did St. Michael's apparition to St. Joan of Arc change the course of her life?
Fr. Pierre Doat: Joan's mission was made possible thanks to the support and assistance of St. Michael. Not only was St. Michael present in the early stages — the voices she heard in Domrémy — but also at the end of her life, in her final hours and trials.
A moving passage from her trial recounts the moment when Joan, at the end of her strength, began to doubt that she had heard the voice of the archangel. During the night, St. Michael appeared to Joan and strengthened her courage. The next day, she recanted and withdrew her statements from the previous day. It was St. Michael who encouraged her one last time before she gave her final testimony.
It’s beautiful to see how he accompanied her throughout her life, in happy moments as well as in more difficult ones. Certainly, he was not present at all times, but he was there at key moments. And when he did not appear to her, she prayed to him anyway.
The many roles of St. Michael
What exactly did he pass on to her?
Fr. Doat: St. Michael gave Joan what he himself was. He is generally identified with the mission of the warrior, his actions reduced to acts of bravery and combat. But with Joan of Arc, we realize that St. Michael's range of actions is much broader. He comforts, especially at the end of Joan's life. He encourages, not only in battle, but who gives missions: Joan receives her mission from St. Michael. And, like angels in general, he inspires and gives rise to great desires, especially the desire to fight for good.
Joan of Arc is a typical example of a woman of faith who allowed herself to be guided by her inspirations, which she attributed to St. Michael.
Why pray to St. Michael today?
Fr. Doat: Praying to St. Michael or our guardian angels allows us to anchor in our daily lives the fact that the invisible world is close to us. We often live as if Heaven were for later. Joan lived in already very effective communion with Heaven. This guided her actions, her choices, her decisions. She lived in contact with the invisible world.
Praying to St. Michael or our guardian angel nourishes our awareness that we are made for Heaven and that Heaven has already begun. This angelic communion is not just for later.
This closeness to the angels also reminds us that we are not the pinnacle of creation. Angels are superior to us by nature; we are not the only beings capable of God and created by him, which puts us in our place as creatures! And more positively, their presence assures us that we are not alone in the fight against evil.
