Saint Raphael - Guatemala - 15"H x 8"W
Raphael in Christianity
The name of the archangel Raphael appears in the Deuterocanonical Book of Tobit.
The Book of Tobit is considered canonical by Roman Catholic, Orthodox
and some Protestant Christians. Raphael first appears disguised in
human form as the traveling companion of the younger Tobias, calling
himself "Azarias the son of the great Ananias". During the adventurous
course of the journey the archangel's protective influence is shown in
many ways including the binding of the demon in the desert of upper
Egypt. After the return and the healing of the blindness of the elder
Tobias, Azarias makes himself known as "the angel Raphael, one of the
seven, who stand before the Lord" Tobit 12:15. Compare the unnamed angels in John's Revelation 8:2.
Regarding the healing powers attributed to Raphael, we have little more than his declaration to Tobit (Tobit,
12) that he was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to
deliver Sarah, his daughter-in-law, from the devil (Asmodeus) that was
the serial killer of her husbands. Among Catholics, he is considered
the patron saint of medical workers and matchmakers, and may be petitioned by them or those needing their services.
Among Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and some Protestant Christians Saint Raphael's feast day is kept on 29 September, along with that of Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel. Raphael was included for the first time in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1921, for celebration on 24 October. This continued until 1969, when 29 September became the day for the joint celebration of the three archangels.[1]
Raphael has made an impression on Catholic geography: Saint Raphaël, France and Saint Raphaël, Quebec, Canada; San Rafaels in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines and in Venezuela as San Rafael de Mohán and San Rafael de Orituco. In the United States, San Rafaels inherited from Mexico survive in California (where besides the city there are San Rafael Mountains), in New Mexico, and in Utah, where the San Rafael River flows seasonally in the San Rafael Desert.
In the New Testament, only the archangels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name Luke 1:19-26, Jude 1:9. John 5:1-4 refers to the pool at Bethesda,
where the multitude of the infirm lay awaiting the moving of the water,
for "an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and
the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after
the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay
under". Because of the healing role assigned to Raphael, this
particular angel is generally associated with the archangel.
Raphael is sometimes shown (usually on medallions) as standing atop a large fish or holding a caught fish at the end of a line. This is a reference to Book of Tobit (Tobias),
where he told Tobias to catch a fish, and then uses the gal bladder to
heal Tobit's eyes, and to drive away Asmodeus by burning the heart and
liver.[2]
According to the Hadith,
Israfil (Raphael in Arabic) is the Angel responsible for signaling the
coming of Judgment Day by blowing the horn (namely Sûr) and sending out
a "Blast of Truth". Unlike Jibrail(Gabriel) and Mikail(Michael), this
archangel was not mentioned by name in the Quran.
The Sûr will be blown two times. The first blow of the Sûr signals
the beginning of the Judgment Day and with the second blow, all the
souls are gathered somewhere between heaven and hell, and interrogated
for their good deeds and sins.