The experience of six saints with the Guardian Angels and their help

Each believer has an angel at his side as protector or shepherd, to lead him to life ". St. Basil of Caesarea "The greatest saints and men of God lived in the familiarity of angels, from ant'Agostino to JK Newman". card. J. Danielou "Angelic encounters" are frequent in the life of mystics and saints. Here are some significant examples:

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI (1182-1226) Saint Francis' devotion to angels is described by Saint Bonaventure in these terms: “With inseparable bond of love he was united with the angels, with these spirits that burn with a wonderful fire and , with it, they penetrate into God and inflame the souls of the elect. Out of devotion to them, beginning with the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, he fasted for forty days, continually dedicating himself to prayer. He was particularly devoted to St. Michael the Archangel ".

SAN TOMMASO D 'AQUINO (1225-1274) During his life he had numerous visions and communications with the angels, as well as devoting particular attention to them in his theological Summa (S Th. I, q.50-64). He spoke of it with so much acuteness and penetration and was able to express himself in his work in such a convincing and suggestive way, that his contemporaries already called him "Doctor Angelicus", Doctor Angelic. Beings of a purely immaterial and spiritual nature, of incalculable number, different in wisdom and perfection, divided into hierarchies, angels, for him, have always existed; but they were created by God, perhaps before the material world and man. Every man, whether Christian or non-Christian, has a guardian angel who never abandons him, even if he is a great sinner. Guardian angels do not prevent man from making use of his freedom also to do evil, however they work on him by illuminating him and inspiring good feelings.

BLESSED ANGELA DA FOLIGNO (1248-1309) She claimed to have been inundated with immense joy at the sight of the angels: "If I had not heard it, I would not have believed that the sight of the angels was capable of giving such joy". Angela, bride and mother, had converted in 1285; after a dissolute life, she had begun a mystical journey that had led her to become the perfect bride of Christ who had appeared to her several times with the angels.

SANTA FRANCESCA ROMANA (1384-1440) The saint best known and loved by the Romans. Beautiful and intelligent, she wanted to be the bride of Christ, but to obey her father, she consented to marry a Roman patrician and was an exemplary mother and bride. Widowed she devoted herself completely to the religious vocation. She is the founder of the Oblates of Mary. The whole life of this saint is accompanied by angelic figures, in particular she always felt and saw an angel beside her. The first intervention of the angel is from 1399 saving Francesca and her sister-in-law who had fallen into the Tiber. The angel looked like a 10-year-old boy with long hair, bright eyes, dressed in a white tunic; he was above all close to Francesca in the numerous and violent struggles that she had to sustain with the devil. This child angel remained beside the saint for 24 years, then was replaced by another much more resplendent than the first, of a higher hierarchy, who remained with her until her death. Francesca was loved by the people of Rome for the extraordinary charity and healings she obtained.

FATHER PIO DA PIETRELCINA (1887-1968) Most devoted to the angel. In the numerous and very hard battles that he had to sustain with the evil one, a luminous character, certainly an angel, was always close to him to help and give him strength. "May the angel accompany you" he said to those who asked him for the blessing. He once said, "It seems impossible how obedient angels are!"

TERESA NEUMANN (1898-1962) In the case of another great mystic of our time, Teresa Neumann, a contemporary of Padre Pio, we find daily and peaceful contact with the angels. She was born in the village of Konnersreuch in Bavaria in 1898 and died here in 1962. Her desire was to become a missionary nun, but was prevented by a serious illness, the consequence of an accident, which made her blind and paralyzed. For years she remained in bed, peacefully enduring her own infirmity and was then suddenly cured first of all by blindness then by paralysis, due to the intervention of Saint Teresa of Lisieux of which Neumann was devoted. Soon the visions of the passion of Christ began which accompanied Teresa throughout her life, repeating herself every Friday, in addition, gradually, the stigmata appeared. Thereafter Teresa felt less and less the need to feed herself, then she completely stopped eating and drinking. His total fast, controlled by special commissions appointed by the Bishop of Regensburg, lasted 36 years. He received only the Eucharist daily. More than once Teresa's visions had the angelic world as their object. He sensed the presence of his guardian angel: he saw him on his right and he also saw the angel of his visitors. Teresa believed that her angel protected her from the devil, replaced her in cases of bilocation (she was often seen simultaneously in two places) and helped her in difficulties. For more testimonies of saints on the existence and their relationship with the angels, we refer to the chapter "Prayers to the guardian angel". However, in addition to the saints reported in this volume, many others have experienced significant episodes related to these heavenly messengers including: San Felice di Noia, Santa Margherita da Cortona, San Filippo Neri, Santa Rosa da Lima, Santa Angela Merici, Santa Caterina da Siena, Guglielmo di Narbona, Benedict the visionary of Laus etc.