The word “angel” and the “archangel” are the most commonly used words in the Catholic faith. The distinction between the two is not known to many of us.
What is the difference?
The English word “angel” comes from the Latin angelus, meaning “messenger of God.” The Latin stems from the Greek ángelos, which is a translation of the Hebrew word mal’ākh, meaning “messenger,” or “delegate,” or “ambassador.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it this way:
St. Augustine says: “‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit’, from what they do, ‘angel.’ ” With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they “always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” they are the “mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word”. (CCC 329)
Angels are above all messengers, and as we will see when we open up Sacred Scripture, they are messengers of God’s divine plan.
The term “angel” describes very commonly and those angels that interact with humans, such as our guardian angels. These angels are considered the lowest rank of angels in the traditional hierarchy of angels.
When it comes to the term, “archangel,” the word includes the prefix “arch-,” used to denote something as “chief” or “principal.” An “archangel” then is a “chief messenger” of God.
The Archangels are angels higher in rank than guardian angels. It is believed that these two lowest ranks of angels are the only ranks who interact with humans.
Archangels are also given the most important messages that must be delivered to humans. Such was the task of St. Gabriel when he delivered the news to Mary that she was to bear the Messiah.
Nevertheless, both angels and archangels remain mysterious but are very close to heart beings to humans, who still know relatively little about them. God has revealed only a little amount of information in the Bible about them, and the rest is interpreted through the guidance of the Church.