Michael is the great prince who stands watch over the people of God, and the captain of the heavenly host who, with his angels, made war on the dragon and threw him down. The Church in every age has asked him to defend her, and on this day she keeps with him the whole company of angels, who serve and worship God without ceasing and whose songs, "Holy, holy, holy" and "Glory to God in the highest," she sings at the Eucharist. The feast has stood on 29 September in the Western calendar since at least the eighth century.