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| San Raffaele Arcangelo, ora pro nobis |
Deus, qui beátum Raphaélem Archàngelum Tobiæ fámulo tuo cómitem dedísti in via: concéde nobis fámulis tuis; ut ejúsdem semper protegámur custódia, et muniámur auxilio. Per Dóminum.
October 24th is the Feast of San Raffaele Arcangelo, patron saint of travelers, happy meetings, matchmakers, fishermen, healers and the blind. One of the 52 co-patrons of Naples, it is customary for women seeking husbands, or looking to conceive a child, to visit the Chiesa San Raffaele in the Materdei district of the city and kiss the fish held by the Saint's statue. The iconography of the fish comes from the biblical story of the Book of Tobias, but in Naples it also represents a phallus and the fertility of the sea.
In celebration, I’m posting a prayer to St. Raphael in Latin and English. The accompanying photo of Tobias and the Angel (c. 1622) by Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, better known as Battistello, was taken at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Evviva San Raffaele Arcangelo!
Prayer to St. Raphael the Archangel
O God, Who to thy servant Tobias when on his journey didst give blessed Raphael, the archangel, as a companion, grant us, Thy servants, that we may ever be protected by his guardianship and strengthened by his assistance. Through our Lord.
