Cum Sanctis Angelis
In Communion with the Holy Angels

Opus Sanctorum Angelorum, the Work of the Holy Angels, is an international movement within the Catholic Church faithful to the Magisterium. It is ordered to promoting devotion to the holy angels and a covenant bond with them through a consecration approved by the Church, so that the holy angels may lead us more effectively to God. The Work is under the overall direction of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, under which has also been erected the Confraternity of the Holy Guardian Angels. The Sisters of the Holy Cross is aggregated to the Order and, though autonomous, forms with it one spiritual family.

The holy angels are powerful spirits present among us, “sent to serve those who are to inherit salvation” (Heb 1:14). “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life” (CCC 336). Most Catholics know little about the holy angels except for the prayer, Angel of God, My Guardian Dear. Yet how much more progress we could make in our spiritual life if we looked more often to him who was given to us specifically as a “shepherd leading [us] to life”!

In an address to American pilgrims on October 3, 1958, Pope Pius XII reminded them that our lives are surrounded by the holy angels: “Each one of us, even the poorest of the poor, has angels watching over him. The angels are glorious, pure and splendid, but they have been given to us as companions along the way of life. They have the task of watching over you all, so that you do not stray away from Christ, your Lord.”

At the end of the audience he admonished the faithful: “Have a familiar relationship with the angels, whose constant care is directed towards your salvation and holiness. God willing, you will spend an eternity of joy with the angels; learn to get to know them now!”

Pope John Paul II gave six Catechesis on the angels at St. Peter’s Square in Rome. In his second talk he stated: “The Church believes that she renders a great service to man when she proposes sincerely the totality of the truth about God, the Creator, and also about the angels” (General Audience, August 6, 1986).

Through retreats and parish missions, the priests of the Opus Angelorum lead the faithful to a more conscious collaboration with the holy angels in daily life for their own personal sanctification, the salvation of souls and the sanctification of priests.