Sacred Calendar
The Roman year ordered for memory, penance, feasts, saints, and the daily pilgrimage of the faithful.
Calendar standard
Pre-1955 Roman usage
The calendar follows the universal Roman year under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X, with the Roman Martyrology preserved as a distinct daily witness.
The day is presented for prayer, recollection, study, and perseverance in the City.
Daily observance
Today in the City of God
The Church keeps this day in holy time. The Pilgrim's Companion gathers the feast, daily quote, Martyrology, meditation, prayer, and related chapters into one daily path through the City.
Choose a date
Daily observance
St. Raphael, Archangel
Saturday, October 24, 2026
Season: Time after Pentecost
The day is set within the Roman year so its feast, Martyrology, daily quote, prayer, and reading path may be received together without blurring their proper sources.
Today's pilgrimage
St. Raphael, Archangel
Rank: Greater Double
Color: white
Quote for the day
St. Raphael the Archangel
“I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord.”
Tobias 12:15, Douay-Rheims
Roman Martyrology
Roman Martyrology - October 24
At Venosa, in Basilicata, the birthday of the holy martyrs Felix, African bishop, Audactus and Januarius, priests, Fortunatus and Septimus, lectors. In the time of Diocletian, after having been a long time loaded with fetters, and imprisoned in Africa and Sicily by the governor Magdellian, as Felix refused absolutely to deliver the sacred books, according to the emperor's edict, they finally closed their lives by being beheaded. — At Nagran, in Arabia Felix, the passion of the Saint Aretas and his companions, to the number of three hundred and forty, in the time of the emperor Justin, under the Jewish tyrant Dunaan. After them was burned alive a Christian woman, whose son, five years old, confessed Christ lisping, and as he could neither by caresses nor threats be stopped, he rushed into the fire in which his mother was burning. — At Cologne, St. Evergistus, bishop and martyr. — At Constantinople, St. Proclus, bishop. — In Bretagne, the departure from this life of St. Maglorious, bishop, whose body rests at Paris. — In Campania, St. Mark, solitary, whose renowned actions have been recorded by St. Gregory.
Highlighted saint
St. Raphael the Archangel
Heavenly guide, healer, and companion under divine providence.
St. Raphael is honored as an archangel associated with guidance and healing in the book of Tobias.
His feast teaches that God governs the journey of His servants, often through hidden assistance that becomes clear only in obedience.
Virtue to practice
Trust in providential guidance.
Error to resist
The practical materialism that treats healing and guidance as merely earthly calculations.
For the pilgrim in exile
Ask St. Raphael to guide the road, not merely shorten it. God often heals the pilgrim while leading him faithfully through the journey.
Imitate today
- Pray for guidance and healing.
- Thank God for hidden helps.
- Travel through duties with chastity and trust.
Sources
- Tobias 12, Douay-Rheims.
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, October 24.
Breviary Witness
Heavenly guidance and healing on the road.
Matins - St. Raphael
Breviary witness
- The Breviary remembrance of St. Raphael turns the faithful toward angelic guidance, healing, and providential companionship.
- His witness teaches that God often leads by hidden helps, revealed fully only to the obedient and grateful soul.
For the pilgrim in exile
Ask for guidance without demanding control. St. Raphael teaches the pilgrim to walk chastely, trust providence, and give thanks for unseen mercy.
Sources
- Roman Breviary, Matins lessons for October 24, St. Raphael.
- Tobias 12, Douay-Rheims.
Gospel of the day
An angel went down at a certain time into the pond.
St. Raphael, Archangel - John 5:1-4
“An angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved.”
What Our Lord teaches
- God uses angelic ministry for healing, guidance, and protection according to His providence.
- St. Raphael reminds the faithful that unseen help is real and ordered by God.
Virtue to practice
Ask for healing and guidance with gratitude for God's hidden messengers.
Error to resist
The practical materialism that refuses to believe in heavenly assistance.
For the pilgrim in exile
Pray for healing without demanding control over its manner. God knows which waters to move, and when.
Sources
- John 5:1-4, Douay-Rheims.
- Traditional Roman Gospel for St. Raphael, Archangel.
Meditation
The Church Made Public
Pentecost teaches that the Holy Ghost does not create private religious enthusiasm detached from doctrine, worship, and authority. He gathers, sends, teaches, and strengthens the visible Church. The remnant must therefore seek fire without disorder and zeal without novelty.
Related paths
Walk the day through the City.
Today's chapters
Read with the feast.
- Sacramental Fidelity Under Pressure
- The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Four Ends of Worship
- John 6: The Bread of Life, Eucharistic Realism, and the Blood of the New Covenant
- The Apostolicity of the Church: Continuity of Faith, Mission, and Authority
- Mary as Image of the Church in Fidelity and Sorrow
Prayer
The day should become prayer.
O Lord, do not permit me to admire truth without submitting to it. Give me the courage to obey what Thou hast already made known.
Thought for the pilgrim
Truth becomes fruitful when it is obeyed.
Practice
The day should become obedience.
Choose one known duty and obey it without delay or complaint.
Source notes
Universal Roman Calendar under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X
Fasting and abstinence according to the laws observed in 1952
Daily quotations and pilgrimage excerpts should come from Scripture, Fathers, Doctors, saints, traditional popes before 1958, traditional catechisms, approved devotional works, or received liturgical texts.
The Roman Martyrology, Baltimore, 1916, published by John Murphy Company; the local 1916 text is displayed and traceable to its source lines.
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, Liturgical Calendar, pp. xvii–xxviii.