PHOTOS: Invisible ‘sword’ of St. Michael guides pilgrims to these 7 sacred sites
Saturday, 12 July 2025 ()
A view from an upper window of Sacra di San Michele, Italy, July 2025. / Credit: Emma Silvestri
Paris, France, Jul 12, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Stretching back to ancient times, Christian pilgrims and curious observers have noted an invisible line spanning the continent of Europe across to the Holy Land, known as “St. Michael’s Sword.” The line follows the locations of seven sanctuaries dedicated to the leader of the heavenly hosts — from the northern tip of Ireland to Jerusalem in the south, passing through France, Italy, and Greece.
“People are surprised when we talk about a line. If you look at a map, the line isn’t perfectly straight. But we live on a globe — lines are relative. For me, what matters is the direction this symbol gives,” Tatiana Bogni, a guide for 20 years at the Sacra di San Michele in Piedmont, Italy, told CNA.
Bogni is passionate about the Sacra di San Michele, located at the center of the invisible line connecting the seven sanctuaries, and speaks tirelessly about the medieval building perched on a rock where St. Michael is said to have appeared.
A statue of St. Michael sits in the Sacra di San Michele, Italy, July 2025. Credit: Emma Silvestri
Over the centuries, countless pilgrims have walked the paths of this angelic sword-shaped line, driven by personal devotion, a search for meaning, or bound by a vow.
According to some traditions, it is customary to start from the north and make one’s way down to Jerusalem. Bogni, however, believes it makes more sense to begin in the Holy Land and travel north to Ireland — representing the journey of Byzantine Persian monks who brought the cult of St. Michael from the East to the West.
A map of St Michael’s sword across Europe reaching down to Jerusalem. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sacra di San Michele
Whichever direction one chooses, this invisible line was “created” a long time ago.
They seven sanctuaries share one notable feature: All are hard to reach — isolated, far from everything, built on islands or rocky mountain outcrops. Sometimes, just reaching them requires facing the raw power of nature. Most importantly, each has a centuries-old history linked to the archangel.
*The seven sanctuaries of St. Michael*
In Ireland, the sanctuary of Skellig Michael is a rocky island rising like a temple from the sea. Now deserted and home to seabirds, the island can only be reached by boat. Pilgrims can see the remains of the monks who lived there between the sixth and 12th centuries, and who dedicated the place to the famous angel defeater of the demon.
The monastery at the top of Skellig Michael island, Mainistir Fhionáin (St. Fionan’s Monastery), County Kerry, Ireland. Credit: tolobalaguer.com/Shutterstock
From there, the second sanctuary stop is in the United Kingdom: St. Michael’s Mount, another island dedicated to the archangel. Legend has it that St. Michael appeared to fishermen to save them from the reefs. The castle-fortress built there served as a strategic stronghold during European wars. Today, only 30 residents preserve its legacy.
An aerial view of St. Michael’s Mount, Penzance, Lands End Peninsula, West Penwith, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Credit: Robert Harding Video/Shutterstock
The third location is Mont-Saint-Michel in France, whose famous abbey is a global tourist destination. Every now and then, the sacred promontory — where St. Michael is said to have appeared to Bishop Aubert of Avranches in the eighth century, asking him to build a sanctuary — is surrounded by ocean waves, left to the wild tides.
The leading walkway to Le Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, France. Credit: Tsomchat/Shutterstock
The line continues through Italy with two sanctuaries still inhabited by monks.
The first is the Sacra di San Michele, a medieval abbey in Piedmont perched at 3,156 feet high and visible throughout the Susa Valley. For those who approach, its colossal stone foundations overhanging the cliff still radiate a mystical force and a sense of the harshness of life.
The walls of Sacra di San Michele in Italy, July 2025. Credit: Emma Silvestri
Further south, in the Apulia region, lies San Michele Arcangelo Shrine on Mount Gargano, built between the fifth and sixth centuries around a cave where St. Michael is said to have appeared. Among the site’s mysteries, legend says the archangel’s footprint is imprinted in the rock.
Tower bell of the Sanctuary of St. Michael the Archangel located in Monte Sant’Angelo, in the province of Foggia, Apulia, Italy. Credit: Stefano Tammaro/Shutterstock
The sixth sanctuary is the Monastery of Panormitis on the Greek island of Symi, home to an icon of St. Michael clad in silver armor. The Orthodox monastery dates from the 18th century and is still inhabited by monks.
The monastery at Panormitis on the Island of Symi in Greece. Credit: ian woolcock/Shutterstock
Finally, the line ends — or begins — in the Holy Land at Stella Maris Monastery on Mount Carmel. Though not historically linked to St. Michael, the Carmelite monastery stands as a symbolic anchor for his devotion to St. Michael in the land of Jesus.
The Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel/Stella Maris Monastery. Credit: Luciano Santandreu/Shutterstock
*A journey toward the light*
“Since the dawn of humanity, people have always chosen privileged places for spiritual health, to withdraw from chaotic life and return stronger,” Bogni noted, referring to these ancient sanctuaries. “I always say the Middle Ages weren’t better — just as chaotic. Technology changes, but people remain the same.”
Bogni often meets pilgrims determined to visit all seven sites on St. Michael’s line.
“Just yesterday, I gave a tour to a Frenchman from Brittany. He’s visiting each sanctuary one by one. In the past, pilgrims would walk the whole line in one go. They would prepare, make a will in case they didn’t return. Today, people usually visit in stages, bit by bit,” she explained.
Sacra di San Michele in Italy, July 2025. Credit: Emma Silvestri
This is not “tourism,” Bogni stressed. “They walk to find themselves. Everyone has their reasons. I believe St. Michael represents the ongoing battle within oneself. ‘Who is like God? Who wants to take God’s place?’ — that’s Michael’s big question. He is a warrior figure who gives strength, a powerful symbol that helps people stay balanced and centered.”
Frenchman Éloi Gillard, now in his 30s, went to Mont-Saint-Michel as a young scout. “I walked three days alone to get there — it was one of the most powerful experiences of my life: like being in the desert, facing myself and facing God.”
Stairs in the Sacra di San Michele, Italy, July 2025. Credit: Emma Silvestri
Now a father of three, Gillard says St. Michael helped him “take stock of my life” at that time. “It was like coming of age — a time to commit, to convert. St. Michael, with his powerful, masculine figure of a brave knight, became a strong image for my life as a young man.”
For Bogni, St. Michael speaks to atheists and believers of other religions, too. He represents “a journey toward the light, and light and darkness are the same for everyone,” she said.
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