Saint Raphael the Archangel – God heals: the companion of Tobias and patron of the sick
Saint Raphael the Archangel is the angel of healing and of the good journey. His name, from the Hebrew Refāʼēl, means “God heals”. His story is found in the Book of Tobit: sent by God, he accompanies young Tobias on his journey, frees Sarah from the demon, and restores Tobit’s sight. He reveals himself: “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand before the glory of the Lord” (Tob 12:15). For this reason he is invoked as patron of the sick, of travelers, and of happy meetings.
Saint Raphael the Archangel, whose Hebrew name means “God heals” (Refāʼēl), is the third Archangel named in Sacred Scripture. His presence is concentrated in the Book of Tobit, where he accompanies young Tobias on his journey and heals both the father’s blindness and the soul of the bride Sarah, possessed by the demon Asmodeus.
| Hebrew name | Raphael (Refāʼēl), “God heals” |
| Type | Archangel |
| Role | Angel of healing, of marriage, of wayfarers, of exorcism |
| Feast | September 29 (the Three Archangels), October 24 (the traditional feast) |
| Patron | The sick, wayfarers, married couples, exorcists, the blind, ophthalmologists |
Saint Raphael in the Book of Tobit
The Book of Tobit (deuterocanonical, 2nd century BC) contains the only complete biblical narrative in which Raphael is the protagonist. Its narrative stages:
1. Tob 5:4: the disguised presentation
Young Tobias must travel from Nineveh to Ecbatana to recover money lent by his blind father. As he looks for a traveling companion, he meets “Raphael” (who presents himself as “Azariah son of Ananias”), without revealing his angelic nature.
2. Tob 6:7-8: the remedy of the fish
During the journey, Tobias is attacked by a giant fish. Raphael teaches him to use the fish’s heart, liver, and gall as remedies: the heart to drive out demons, the gall to cure blindness.
3. Tob 6:14-18: the healing of Sarah
Tobias marries Sarah, the daughter of his kinsman Raguel. Sarah had lost seven husbands before the marriage was consummated, each of them killed by the demon Asmodeus on the wedding night. Raphael instructs Tobias to burn the fish’s heart on the wedding night, and the demon flees to Egypt, where he is bound in chains.
4. Tob 11:13: the healing of the blindness
On returning home, Tobias uses the fish’s gall to cure his father’s blindness. His father, on recovering his sight, glorifies God.
5. Tob 12:11-15: the revelation of his identity
Latin (Vulgate): “Aperiam vobis veritatem… Ego sum Raphael angelus, unus ex septem qui astamus ante Dominum”. “Quando orabas cum lacrimis, et sepeliebas mortuos, et derelinquebas prandium tuum, et mortuos abscondebas per diem in domo tua, et nocte sepeliebas eos: ego obtuli orationem tuam Domino”.
English: “I will reveal the truth to you… I am Raphael, an angel, one of the seven who stand before the Lord”. “When you prayed with tears and buried the dead, and left your dinner, and hid the dead by day in your house, and buried them by night: I offered your prayer to the Lord”.
The “Seven angels” of Revelation
Raphael identifies himself as “one of the seven who stand before the Lord” (Tob 12:15). This tradition of the seven principal archangels is taken up again in Revelation:
- Rev 1:4: “The seven spirits who are before his throne”
- Rev 4:5: “Seven burning torches before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God”
- Rev 8:2: “The seven angels who stood before God”
The Book of Enoch, an apocryphal work, names seven archangels: Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Sariel, Gabriel and Remiel (1 Enoch 20). The names Selaphiel, Jegudiel and Barachiel, common in Eastern devotion, come from a later tradition. The Catholic Church officially recognizes only the three named in canonical Scripture (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael).
Saint Raphael and exorcism
The episode of Sarah and Asmodeus (Tob 6-8) is historically the oldest explicit biblical account of an exorcism (earlier than the exorcisms of the New Testament). For this reason, Saint Raphael is venerated as:
- Patron of exorcists: his healing of Sarah anticipates the deliverance brought by Christ
- Model for the Christian couple: protector of the wedding night and of marriage
- Angel of marriage: the Judeo-Christian tradition invokes him in the marriage rite
Catholic Magisterium on Saint Raphael
Saint Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologiae I, q. 113, a. 4)
Thomas analyzes the passage from Tobit and states that angels can temporarily assume visible bodies in order to serve men. Raphael is the paradigmatic example of this angelic action.
Benedict XV (1921)
He extends the feast of Saint Raphael, on 24 October, to the whole Church.
Traditional iconography
Saint Raphael is depicted:
- Accompanying young Tobias, with a traveler’s staff and a water gourd
- Holding a fish, a direct reference to the healing
- In traveler’s garb
- In landscapes with healing waters
Masterpieces: Tobias and the Angel by Pollaiolo, Verrocchio (with Leonardo da Vinci), Filippino Lippi, and Rembrandt.
Devotions to Saint Raphael
- Feast of October 24: ancient, retained in the Tridentine liturgy
- Feast of September 29: the Three Archangels, current calendar
- Novena to Saint Raphael: 9 days before October 24
- Prayer for travel: “Saint Raphael, faithful companion of Tobias, be my protector…”
- Prayer for the sick: a traditional invocation in the pastoral care of the sick
The three archangels, the three aspects of angelic mediation
The three canonical archangels represent three aspects of angelic action:
| Archangel | Meaning of the name | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Michael | “Who is like God?” | Combat against the Evil One |
| Gabriel | “Strength of God” | Communication of the Word of God |
| Raphael | “God heals” | Healing, daily providence |
Further reading
Saint Michael the Archangel | Saint Gabriel the Archangel | Rite of Exorcism
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See also: What is Angelology? The angels in the Bible and in the Magisterium
Frequently asked questions about Saint Raphael the Archangel
What does the name “Raphael” mean?
From the Hebrew Refāʼēl, “God heals” (or “remedy of God”).
In which book of the Bible does Saint Raphael appear?
In the Book of Tobit, where he accompanies young Tobias, cures Tobit’s blindness, and frees Sarah from the demon Asmodeus.
Of what is Saint Raphael the patron?
Of the sick and of physicians, of travelers and of happy meetings (because of the marriage of Tobias and Sarah).
Who are the “seven angels” that Raphael mentions?
In Tob 12:15, Raphael says he is “one of the seven angels who stand before the Lord” – the seven spirits who are before the throne of God (cf. Rev 1:4; 8:2).
When is Saint Raphael celebrated?
On September 29, the feast of the Holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.
Would you like to study angelology with academic rigor?
This article grows out of the works in the Locus Mariologicus library. Angelology is one of the disciplines of the Postgraduate Program in Mariology, within a 360-hour curriculum that ranges from Scripture to the Fathers of the Church and the Magisterium.
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