Do all nations have guardian angels?

Question

I am reading An exorcist tells his story, and in it the author discusses guardian angels. The author says the following (translated by Google translate from Italian):

They are our great allies, we owe them so much and it is a mistake that so little is said about them. Each of us has his guardian angel, a faithful friend 24 hours a day, from conception to death. He protects us incessantly in soul and body; and we, for the most part, don't even think about it. We know that even nations have their own particular angel and this probably also happens for every community, perhaps for the same family, even if we are not sure of this.

According to the Catholic Church, do all nations have their guardian angels?

Answer 1

Do all nations have guardian angels?

According to several Catholic sources all nations has their own particular Guardian Angel. Many Catholic mystics has stated this to be so.

Although the Church has not pronounced on it, there seems to be no reason to state the contrary.

In fact the Catholic Church permits Portugal to celebrate the Feast of their National Guardian Angel on June 10. This alone speaks volumes.

The Angel of Portugal, also referred to as the Guardian Angel of Portugal, the Holy Guardian Angel of Portugal, the Custodian Angel or the Angel of Peace is celebrated as the Guardian angel of Portugal. It is the only "national angel" recognized as such. Portugal celebrates the Feast of the Angel of Portugal on June 10.

The cult of the Guardian Angel of Portugal declined considerably after the 17th century, and was officially restored in 1952, its feast day being inserted into the Portuguese liturgical calendar by Pius XII.

Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, the three children who claimed in 1917 to have experienced a series of Marian apparitions at the Our Lady of Fátima events, claimed the angel to have appeared before them three times in 1916.

The Angel of Portugal has at times been identified as Saint Michael.

• Angel of Portugal

It is piously believed that the Guardian Angel of Ancient Israel was St. Michael the Archangel.

This pious belief is derived from a Jewish tradition that St. Michael was the protector of the nation of Israel. The book of Daniel presents Michael as Israel’s guardian, who will keep them safe from their enemies (cf. Daniel 10). Also, in the book of Exodus God proclaims, “Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared” (Exodus 23:20). The angel mentioned is for the entire nation of Israel, leading them to safety throughout the desert.

Catholics held on to this belief, and early on various regions began to celebrate a feast in honor of their Guardian Angel. For example, Portugal celebrates a feast on June 10 in honor of the Guardian Angel of Portugal.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church even makes a passing reference to this belief.

This state of division into many nations, each entrusted by divine providence to the guardianship of angels (CCC 57)

This means that Christians in a particular country can unite and offer prayers to God through their Guardian Angel, asking for both physical and spiritual protection.

Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton of Steubenville, Ohio authorized a prayer to the Guardian Angel of the United States, which is posted on the website of Opus Angelorum.

How each country has a Guardian Angel who will protect it from danger

The Church teaches, although not infallibly, that each soul at the moment of it’s birth receives a Guardian Angel, whether Christian or Pagan. Great is God solicitude for the salvation of all souls. Logic would dictate that the the same applies to all nations and the salvation of the soul in all lands both Christian and Pagan!

That every individual soul has a guardian angel has never been defined by the Church, and is, consequently, not an article of faith; but it is the "mind of the Church", as St. Jerome expressed it: "how great the dignity of the soul, since each one has from his birth an angel commissioned to guard it." (Comm. in Matt., xviii, lib. II).

This belief in guardian angels can be traced throughout all antiquity; pagans, like Menander and Plutarch (cf. Eusebius, "Praep. Evang.", xii), and Neo-Platonists, like Plotinus, held it. It was also the belief of the Babylonians and Assyrians, as their monuments testify, for a figure of a guardian angel now in the British Museum once decorated an Assyrian palace, and might well serve for a modern representation; while Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar the Great, says: "He (Marduk) sent a tutelary deity (cherub) of grace to go at my side; in everything that I did, he made my work to succeed."

In the Bible this doctrine is clearly discernible and its development is well marked. In Genesis 28-29, angels not only act as the executors of God's wrath against the cities of the plain, but they deliver Lot from danger; in Exodus 12-13, an angel is the appointed leader of the host of Israel, and in 32:34, God says to Moses: "my angel shall go before thee." At a much later period we have the story of Tobias, which might serve for a commentary on the words of Psalm 90:11: "For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways." (Cf. Psalm 33:8 and 34:5) Lastly, in Daniel 10 angels are entrusted with the care of particular districts; one is called "prince of the kingdom of the Persians", and Michael is termed "one of the chief princes"; cf. Deuteronomy 32:8 (Septuagint); and Ecclesiasticus 17:17 (Septuagint). - Guardian Angel

Answer 2

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states in section 336 that "From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." This statement is based on various biblical passages and the longstanding tradition of the Church.

In terms of guardian angels for nations, the concept is less explicitly defined in Church teaching, but it's inferred from several biblical passages. One notable reference is found in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. In Daniel 10:13-21, angels are described as "princes" of particular nations, including Persia and Israel. This has been interpreted by some to mean that nations or peoples have specific angels assigned to them.

Answer 3

Although the Catholic Church indeed teaches that nations have guardian angels, I find no teaching that "all nations" have them. In the case of nations that are historically Catholic there is ample evidence from Church sources that they are protected by a guardian angel as @Ken Graham's article suggests. It is an open question as to whether non-Christian nations are protected in this way. Some Catholic scholars do refer to the spiritual guardians of ancient Persia and Greece (see footnote "e" here) as angels, even though they were formerly called "gods." Does this mean that the "gods" of ancient pagan nations were actually guardian angels? Should we imagine a guardian angel of Afghanistan under the Taliban or a guardian angel that protects the militantly atheistic regime of North Korea and a separate one for South Korea with its millions of Christians? And what happens when a nation such as Yugoslavia becomes several nations, including one that is majority-Catholic, another majority Orthodox and yet another that is majority Muslim?

Conclusion: the Catholic teaching on guardian angels of nations is not settled. Historically Catholic nations clearly are thought to have them. Whether pagan or atheistic nations have them is unclear, as is the question of what constitutes a "nation" for purpose of the assignment of guardian angels.

Answer 4

Guardian angels protect nations according to the number of holy people a nation holds.

Genesis 18:32

And he (Abraham) said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there (Sodom). And he (God) said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

Thus, a nation is blessed because of the vitalizing influence of its holy residents, who attract guardian angels by their prayers, thereby acting as preserving salt against national destruction. (Mat 5:13)

Hebrews 1:14

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

In Matthew 6:8-15 Jesus instructs his disciples on how to pray to activate the angelic power of the heavenly host.

Thus, God's angels are ministering angels sent out to attend to those who pray the Royal, Lord's Prayer, and to fulfill its seven subprayers. And when the preserving influence of the Royal Priesthood is taken out of the way rapid decay sets in with wars and cataclysms, resulting in the end of the world as we know it.