Catechism of the Catholic Church – angels and demons (nn. 328-336 and 391-395)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC, 1992) has two systematic sections on spiritual beings: nn. 328-336 on the angels (in the first part, on God the Creator) and nn. 391-395 on the fall of the angels and on demonic action. This synthesis is the most authoritative official reference of the Magisterium on angelology and demonology.

I. The angels (CCC 328-336)

n. 328, the existence of the angels

Latin: Spiritualium creaturarum, quas Sacra Scriptura “angelos” appellat, exsistentia, est veritas fidei. Testimonium Scripturae tam est manifestum quam Traditionis unanimitas.

English: The existence of spiritual, non-corporeal beings, whom Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels,” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.

n. 329, who the angels are

Saint Augustine says of them: “‘Angel’ designates the office, not the nature. If you seek the name of this nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the office, it is ‘angel’: by what it is, ‘spirit’; by what it does, ‘angel’.” In their whole being, the angels are servants and messengers of God.

n. 330, angels as personal creatures

As purely spiritual creatures, they have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, and they surpass in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory attests.

n. 331, the angels of Christ

Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are His angels: “When the Son of man comes in his glory with all his angels…” (Mt 25:31). They belong to Him because they were created through Him and for Him: “For in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible: thrones, dominions, principalities, powers; all things were created through him and for him” (Col 1:16).

n. 332, angels in the Old Testament

The angels were already present from creation and throughout the whole history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or from near and fulfilling the plan of God for its accomplishment: they closed the earthly paradise, protected Lot, saved Hagar and her child, stayed the hand of Abraham, communicated the Law through their mediation, led the people of God, announced births and vocations, assisted the prophets…

nn. 333-336, angels in the New Testament and in the life of the Church

The angels:

• They announce the Incarnation (Lk 1:26-38)
• They are at the manger of Bethlehem (Lk 2:8-14)
• They serve Christ in the desert (Mt 4:11)
• They announce the Resurrection (Mt 28:5-7)
• They are present at the Ascension (Acts 1:10-11)
• Every member of the faithful has a guardian angel (CCC 336)

n. 336, the guardian angel

From infancy (cf. Mt 18:10) to death (cf. Lk 16:22), human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd, leading him to life” (Saint Basil the Great, Eun. 3, 1: PG 29, 656B). Already in this life, Christian life shares by faith in the blessed communion of angels and of men united in God.

II. The fall of the angels (CCC 391-395)

n. 391, the existence of fallen angels

Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which out of envy makes them fall into death (cf. Wis 2:24). Scripture and the Tradition of the Church see in this being a fallen angel, called Satan or the devil (cf. Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9). The Church teaches that he was at first a good angel, made by God: “The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they made themselves evil by their own doing” (Lateran IV, 1215: DH 800).

n. 392, the irrevocable character of the choice of the angels

Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels. This “fall” consisted in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and His Kingdom. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the words of the tempter to our first parents: “You will be like God” (Gen 3:5). The devil “has sinned from the beginning” (1 Jn 3:8), “father of lies” (Jn 8:44).

n. 393, the irreversibility of the fall

It is the irrevocable character of the choice of the angels, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the sin of the angels unforgivable. “There is no repentance for them after the fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death” (Saint John Damascene, F.O. 2, 4: PG 94, 877C).

n. 394, the temptation of the devil

Scripture bears witness to the disastrous influence of the one whom Jesus calls “a murderer from the beginning” (Jn 8:44) and who also tried to divert Jesus from the mission received from His Father. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8).

n. 395, the limits of the power of the devil

The power of Satan is nevertheless not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but a creature all the same: he cannot prevent the building up of the Kingdom of God. Although Satan acts in the world out of hatred for God and for His Kingdom in Jesus Christ, and although his action causes grave injuries, of a spiritual nature and indirectly even of a physical nature, to each man and to society, this action is permitted by divine Providence, which with strength and gentleness guides the history of man and of the world. The divine permission of diabolical activity is a great mystery, but “we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him” (Rom 8:28).

III. Other mentions of the devil in the CCC

• n. 414: Satan and the other demons are fallen angels who freely refused to serve God and His plan. Their choice against God is definitive. They try to associate man in their revolt against God.
• nn. 538-540: The temptation of Christ in the desert, victory over Satan
• n. 1352: The Eucharist as combat against the Evil One
• n. 1673: Exorcism, when the Church asks publicly, with the authority of Jesus Christ, that a person or object be protected against the influence of the Evil One
• nn. 2851-2854: “Deliver us from evil” in the prayer of the Our Father

Synthesis of the seven fundamental truths

1. Angels exist as personal, spiritual, free, and immortal beings
2. The angels were created by God, they belong to Christ, they serve the Kingdom
3. Every member of the faithful has a guardian angel from birth until death
4. Demons are fallen angels who freely chose to reject God
5. The choice of the angels was irrevocable; they cannot be converted
6. The Devil tempts man but does not have absolute power
7. Christ conquered the Devil on the Cross and in the Resurrection

Further reading

Fourth Lateran Council 1215 (Firmiter) | CDF Fede e Demonologia 1975 | Paul VI Confronto col Diavolo | JP2 Catecheses 1986 | Leo XIII – Prayer to Saint Michael

See also: What Is Angelology? The Angels in the Bible and in the Magisterium

See our complete guide to Catholic Angelology.