Raphael

Who they were

The archangel Raphael is the hero of the whole Book of Tobit. Tobit, a devout and generous man of the Assyrian exile who gave alms and buried the abandoned dead, lost his goods and then his sight, and sent his son Tobias on a long, dangerous journey to recover money left with a relative.

Raphael, disguised as a traveller, went with the young man as his guide, told him to catch the fish that attacked him in the Tigris and keep its heart, liver and gall, led him to his kinswoman Sarah, whom a demon had kept from seven marriages, freed her so that Tobias could marry her, and on their return healed Tobit's blindness. His name means 'God heals'. He is celebrated with Michael and Gabriel on 29 September.

The miracles

Raphael is an angel, not a human saint: there is no cause and no process. He is honoured in the Church's liturgy from Scripture itself.

Why that counted as sanctity

Raphael is honoured as God's companion on the road and His healer: he guided, protected and healed a family that had stayed faithful in exile. He is invoked by travellers, the sick and those looking for a husband or wife.