Why Are There So Many Images of Angels in Catholic Churches?

Angels adoring the Eucharist

If you walk into a Catholic Church the chances are pretty good that you’re going to see a statue or image of at least one angel, but why?

One church that I’ve been to has images of angels on the front doors. The angels have swords, but those swords are sheathed and the angels are holding them with both hands and the tips are pointing downwards towards their feet.

Sometimes there’s an image of St. Michael, and usually he’s shown holding a sword in a fighting stance, or about to strike a demon. It’s a portrayal of the scene from the book of Revelation where he’s just about to defeat Satan in Rev 12:7-9.

Sometimes there are images of angels surrounding the tabernacle, and this is partly a reference to the angels in Exodus 25:17-22 where the sculptures of angels are used to provide the mercy seat. The mercy seat is the throne of God on the Ark of the Covenant and it’s where He descends so that He is present among the Israelites.

In a Catholic Church, God is present in the Eucharist which is kept in the tabernacle after the Mass. The candle beside the tabernacle is lit to indicate the presence of God in that tabernacle, and when Catholics enter the church we genuflect towards the tabernacle to acknowledge that we’ve entered His presence.

God is always surrounded by His heavenly court and of course this includes the angels. During a Catholic Mass, heaven descends to earth and everyone in the church – the Church in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory – is united, even though we’re usually only able to see the members of the church on earth that are around us. The images are to remind us of the others that are there with us: they make visible what is invisible. Angels are pure spirit so we’re not able to see them as they are, but sometimes we can see them when they take on the form of a human body. The images also remind us of the different ways that they interact with us during our lives.

When Adam and Eve rejected God and had to leave the Garden of Eden, God placed a cherubim wielding a fiery sword to guard the entrance so they couldn’t return. It’s a symbol of heaven indicating that the gates of heaven were closed to human beings as well as God’s promise in Gen 3:15. Before God tells Adam and Eve what their punishment will be, He tells them that He will send a savior to open the gates to heaven again and reunite us with Him.

At the Incarnation, the second person of the trinity assumed a human nature. He became incarnate and was born to heal the broken relationship that human beings now have with God so that everyone can be reunited with God in heaven. Through His suffering, death, and resurrection He took on the punishment for the sins of Adam in Gen 3:17-19 and opened the gates of heaven.

When we enter a Catholic church where Christ is present in the tabernacle, we enter into the presence of heaven because the way is now open. This is why the angels on the doors of that Church are shown holding swords that are sheathed and pointing downwards: the angel guarding the way to Eden no longer prevents us from entering, but when we die in friendship with God we enter into eternal life with Him.