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Archangel Raphael
Archangel Raphael, along with Gabriel and Michael is one of the three archangels mentioned in the Bible. He is the patron saint of traveling, healing, and healers. His healing abilities are represented by an emerald green healing light. Archangel Raphael is found in the deuteron-canonical book of Tobit. The term deuteron-canonical has been used since the 16th century by the Catholic and Orthodox Church to describe certain books that are in the Christian Old Testament but not in the Hebrew scriptures. Archangel Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit, disguised in human form as a traveling companion for Tobit's son Tobiah. Throughout the journey, Archangel Raphael protects Tobiah. Raphael blinds a demon in a desert in upper Egypt and he heals the blind Tobit.
Church fathers also believe that Raphael was the angel at the pool at Bethesda, where the sick were brought for healing. John: 5:1-4 states, “An angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under.”
Archangel Raphael’s Influence:
-Archangel Raphael was revered in Catholic Europe as a protector of Catholic sailors and travelers. Respect to Raphael was paid on a corner of Venice’s famous Doge’s Palace, where there is a relief portraying Raphael with Tobias on his knees holding a scroll on which is written: Efficia fretum quietum (“Keep the Gulf quiet”).
-Vasco Da Gama’s ship that sailed in 1497 was an evident tribute to the Patron Saint of travel, because it was named St. Raphael. In fact when the ship reached the Cape of Good Hope, on October 22, the sailors disembarked and built a column in the archangel’s honor. The statue of St. Raphael that accompanied Da Gama on the voyage can now be found in the Naval Museum in Lisbon.
- Another example of St. Raphael’s influence can be found in Tuscany. Every teenager who left home for the first time was believed to be under Raphael’s care. Raphael was named the “defender of adolescent chastity”: Adolescentium pudicitiae defensor. The adolescents can be thought of as “travelers” wandering through life, and St. Raphael was there to guide them through their journey. Another representation of Raphael’s protection over travelers was found in one of the largest Catholic Emigrants’ Aid groups, the St. Raphael’s Society, which was founded in 1871 to help Catholics of diverse cultural backgrounds arriving in America. Variations of the original group still exist globally in modern times. Raphael's loving influence over travels (immigrants) is evident in this example.
- The city of Cordova Spain is a prime example of respect paid to this Saint. After a series of apparitions of Archangel Raphael in the 16th century, Pope Innocent X allowed the local celebration of a feast day in the Archangel’s honor on May 7.
Archangel Raphael, along with Gabriel and Michael is one of the three archangels mentioned in the Bible. He is the patron saint of traveling, healing, and healers. His healing abilities are represented by an emerald green healing light. Archangel Raphael is found in the deuteron-canonical book of Tobit. The term deuteron-canonical has been used since the 16th century by the Catholic and Orthodox Church to describe certain books that are in the Christian Old Testament but not in the Hebrew scriptures. Archangel Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit, disguised in human form as a traveling companion for Tobit's son Tobiah. Throughout the journey, Archangel Raphael protects Tobiah. Raphael blinds a demon in a desert in upper Egypt and he heals the blind Tobit.
Church fathers also believe that Raphael was the angel at the pool at Bethesda, where the sick were brought for healing. John: 5:1-4 states, “An angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under.”
Archangel Raphael’s Influence:
-Archangel Raphael was revered in Catholic Europe as a protector of Catholic sailors and travelers. Respect to Raphael was paid on a corner of Venice’s famous Doge’s Palace, where there is a relief portraying Raphael with Tobias on his knees holding a scroll on which is written: Efficia fretum quietum (“Keep the Gulf quiet”).
-Vasco Da Gama’s ship that sailed in 1497 was an evident tribute to the Patron Saint of travel, because it was named St. Raphael. In fact when the ship reached the Cape of Good Hope, on October 22, the sailors disembarked and built a column in the archangel’s honor. The statue of St. Raphael that accompanied Da Gama on the voyage can now be found in the Naval Museum in Lisbon.
- Another example of St. Raphael’s influence can be found in Tuscany. Every teenager who left home for the first time was believed to be under Raphael’s care. Raphael was named the “defender of adolescent chastity”: Adolescentium pudicitiae defensor. The adolescents can be thought of as “travelers” wandering through life, and St. Raphael was there to guide them through their journey. Another representation of Raphael’s protection over travelers was found in one of the largest Catholic Emigrants’ Aid groups, the St. Raphael’s Society, which was founded in 1871 to help Catholics of diverse cultural backgrounds arriving in America. Variations of the original group still exist globally in modern times. Raphael's loving influence over travels (immigrants) is evident in this example.
- The city of Cordova Spain is a prime example of respect paid to this Saint. After a series of apparitions of Archangel Raphael in the 16th century, Pope Innocent X allowed the local celebration of a feast day in the Archangel’s honor on May 7.
- St. John of God, who is the founder of the Hospital order that bears his name also received visitations from St. Raphael, who encouraged and guided him personally. In tribute to Archangel Raphael’s guidance, many of the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God’s facilities are called “Raphael Centers” to this day.