How to Pray the Chaplet of Saint Michael

St. Michael the Archangel is the patron saint of sickness, police officers, grocers, mariners and paratroopers, and his chaplet -- a Catholic devotional prayer counted on a strand of beads -- is a call for angelic help in difficult situations. The St. Michael chaplet is counted on a strand with a medal of the saint and nine groups of four beads each, which represent the nine Choirs, or groups, of Angels. The chaplet includes prayers to each of these Choirs, along with Our Fathers, Hail Marys and an invocation to God and St. Michael.

Recite an Act of Contrition. With the chaplet, make the Sign of the Cross by passing the chaplet over your forehead, chest, left shoulder and right shoulder while holding your thumb, pointer and middle fingers together.

Hold the medal of St. Michael and recite the first portion of the chaplet, which calls for God's assistance.

Move to the centerpiece of the strand of beads above the medal, then to the first set of beads. Recite the intercession of St. Michael and the Seraphim, then finish with one Our Father prayer and three Hail Mary prayers.

Hold the second set of beads, then recite the intercession of the Cherubim along with one Our Father and three Hail Marys.

Continue with the intercession of the Thrones, Dominions, Powers, Virtues, Principalities, Archangels and the final Choir of Angels, each of which is counted in order on its own set of beads. Follow each intercession with an Our Father and three Hail Marys.

Pray four Our Fathers on the final beads -- one for St. Michael, one for St. Gabriel, one for St. Raphael and one for your guardian angel.

Finish the chaplet with the concluding prayers to St. Michael and to God.