Our patron Michael is an angel, which means that he is one who delivers a message.  Angels who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called Archangels.  St. Michael the Archangel is one of the principal angels in Judeo-Christian and Islamic tradition.

In art, St Michael is represented as a warrior and protector of the vulnerable, fully armed with helmet, sword, and shield standing over the dragon, whom he sometimes pierces with a lance.  His feast (September 29) in the Middle Ages was celebrated as a holy day of obligation.

It may have been natural for St. Michael, the champion of the Jewish people, to be the military champion also of Christians.   Instead, early Christians gave care of their sick to St. Michael.

Among the Basques in northern Spain, whose national patron is St. Michael, the feast is kept with great religious and civic celebrations.  In Germany, for Christians, St. Michael replaced the pagan god Wotan, to whom many mountains were sacred, hence the numerous mountain chapels of St. Michael all over Germany.  In Normandy, St. Michael is the patron of mariners in his famous sanctuary at Mont-Saint-Michel in the Diocese of Coutances.  The Feast of St. Michael coincides with the ancient “quarter” celebration of the Germanic nations, held at the end of a three-month season. It was the time of the fall meeting of all freemen for the purpose of making laws and sitting in court. Great markets and celebrations were held in all cities and towns.  This ancient lore is celebrated today with: St. Michael’s parades, fairs, plays, and similar customs.  Michaelmas Day, in England and other countries, is one of the regular quarter-days for settling rents and accounts.  Some parishes (Isle of Skye) have a procession on this day and bake a cake called St. Michael’s bannock.  In Australia, National Police Remembrance day is commemorated on September 29 each year, the feast day of St. Michael.

St. Michael the Archangel is patron, protector and companion for, among others:  artists, bakers, bankers, the sick, the dying, England, greengrocers, knights, mariners, milliners, paramedics, paratroopers, police officers, soldiers, and congregations of St. Michael—like us!

- Information taken directly from the Catholic Encyclopedia, Wikipedia and the Patron Saint Index.