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Frequently Asked Questions
updated regularly - check back often
What are angels?
Angels are pure spirits with an intellect and will. They do not have a human body and are neither male nor female. Angels exist outside of time; therefore, they think and choose in an instant for all eternity.
Angels are messengers of God. The very word angel means messenger. St. Augustine taught that “‘Angel is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is spirit; if you seek the name of their office, it is angel: from what they are, spirit, from what they do, angel.’" (CCC 329) Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, taught that each angel is one of kind, its own species. (Summa Theologica Part I question 50 Article 4)
How much does the Church know about Guardian Angels?
“The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith.” (CCC 328) The Church has always professed the belief in angels, a belief passed down via the in Scriptures and Tradition. The role of angels throughout salvation history can be seen in the Old and New Testaments and in the life of the Church. There are nine choirs of angels mentioned in Scriptures: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. The choir called Angels are also referred to as Guardian Angels. A guardian angel has the role of caretaker, protector, and shepherd of human beings. Some have taught that after a person is baptized, the role of the guardian angel is mainly that of a guide and instructor of the faith. “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. ‘Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.’ Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God” (CCC 336).
Do angels that watch over us after we die?
There are various references of angels watching over us after we die. “In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance in the funeral liturgy's [. . .]’may the angels lead you into Paradise’” (CCC 335). “The angels help the soul escape the sufferings of death; the guardian angel accompanies it and assures it a peaceful journey; […] the angels set in charge of the gate of heaven welcome it” (Jean Danielou S.J., The Angels and Their Mission 99). Until the resurrection of the body, “the angels keep watch over the tomb of saints” (Danielou 106).
Written by Sean M. Martin, Director of Religious Education and Family Life for the Diocese of Sioux City
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