PRAYER TO MARY, QUEEN OF THE ANGELS- PRAYER AGAINST DEMONS FROM FULLY APPROVED APPARTITON

Original text from the prayer dictated by Our Lady to Servant of God, Father Cestac on January 13, 1863.
Prayer to Mary, Queen of the Angels [ Also known as the “August Queen” or “August Queen of Heaven” Prayer ]
An Indulgence of 500 days.
(S. C. Ind., July 8, 1908; S. P. Ap., Mar. 28, 1935- St. Pius X)

August Queen of Heaven, sovereign Mistress of the Angels, thou who from the beginning hast received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan, we humbly beseech thee to send thy holy legions, that under thy command and by thy power they may pursue the evil spirits, encounter them on every side, resist their bold attacks, and drive them hence into eternal woe.

Who is like unto God?

O good and tender Mother, thou willest always to be our love and our hope.

O Mother of God, send thy holy Angels to defend us and drive far from us the cruel enemy.

Holy Angels and Archangels, defend us and keep us. Amen.

THE FOLLOWING GIVES THE HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN AND STORY SURROUNDING THE PRAYER TO MARY, QUEEN OF THE ANGELS:

The French priest, Fr. Louis–Édouard Cestac (1801–1868), founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Mary and declared Servant of God by Pope Pius X on April 8, 1908, was the true and real recipient of the prayer (and not a nameless female soul or a Bernardine Sister, as commonly cited in many sources and printed copies).

The prayer, dictated by the Blessed Mother herself, has special relevance and connection to the [earlier] apparition and message of La Salette (France, 1846). In that tearful apparition, Our Lady said, among other things: “In the year 1864 Lucifer, together with a great number of demons, will be loosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith little by little, even in those dedicated to God.”

The year before this anticipated release [of demons], the Blessed Mother, out of love for mankind, gave the prayer as an evident form of countermeasure to defeat the work of Satan.

THIS IS HOW THE PRAYER WAS GIVEN TO THE WORLD:
On January 13, 1863, Fr. Louis–Édouard Cestac, accustomed to the goodness of the Most Blessed Virgin, was suddenly struck by a ray of divine light: he saw a vision of demons widespread over the earth, causing inexpressible destruction. At the same time the August Mother of God told him that “the time had come to pray to her as Queen of the Angels, and to ask her to send the holy legions to fight and defeat the powers of Hell.”

Fr. Cestac addressed the Virgin:
“My Mother, thou who art so good, could thou not send them without being asked?”

“No,” the Virgin replied; “Prayer is a condition established by God Himself for obtaining graces.”

“Well then, my Mother!” the priest entreated; “would thou thyself teach me how to pray to thee?”

And the Most Holy Virgin dictated to him what is now known as the August Queen of Heaven prayer.

PRINTING AND DISSEMINATION OF THE PRAYER :
“My first duty,” wrote Fr. Cestac, “was to present this prayer to Mgr. Lacroix, Bishop of Bayonne, who condescended to approve it. Having carried out this duty, I had 500,000 copies printed and had them sent everywhere.”
At the first printing, the press broke three times (not two times as related in many accounts). But through the impulsion of the venerable Father Cestac, founder of Our Lady of Refuge (home for poor girls), this prayer has spread throughout the Catholic world, accompanied everywhere by extraordinary favors!

This historical account is found on [and translated from] the copy of the French prayer card printed in 1945 with the Imprimatur of the local Bishop, Leo Albertus .

OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES:
It should be noted also that the correct date when the prayer was given by the Blessed Mother to Fr. Cestac is January 13, 1863, and not January 13, 1864 (as some accounts erroneously put it). This year (1863) was indicated in the Beatification process documents* as the year when the vision was received; it was also the year written on the French prayer card herein attached; and lastly, the year 1863 would be most reasonable as it allowed sufficient time for the prayer to be approved, printed and distributed in anticipation of the imminent release of demons from Hell which was to occur in 1864, according to the prophecy attributed to the Blessed Virgin of La Salette.

Fr. Louis–Édouard Cestac, Pray for us