What is an Archangel?

Angel belonging to a higher order; heavenly spirit who acts as a messenger on special missions.

Archangel, from the Greek: arkhaggelos, Latin ecclesiastics: archangelus, is the main angel or angel of the highest order in the celestial hierarchy. In the Christian Bible, the term appears only twice and only in the New Testament. According to the same Bible there are seven archangels but only two are mentioned: Miguel and Gabriel

What is the role of an Archangel?

Since antiquity, it has been considered that the angelic hosts are organized in a kind of heavenly court, in which angels have different degrees and dignities. The archangels occupy the highest spheres of this angelic hierarchy. They too have tasks similar to those of ordinary angels, but their duties are even greater and more important. His is the task of contemplating God, day and night, to glorify him incessantly, preserving and protecting his mystery. Their own names suggest their role and their own nature: they all end with "El", which means "God".

Sacred Scripture assigns each Archangel a particular mission.

Miguel is the warrior who fights against Satan and his emissaries (Jn 9, Rev 12, 7, cf. Zac 13:1-2), the defender of those who love God (Dan. 10, 13:21), the protector of the people of God (Dan. 12:1).

Gabriel is one of the spirits closest to God, before his heavenly Throne (Luke 1:19), the one who revealed to Daniel the secrets of God's plan (Dan. 8, 16; 9, 21-22), announced to Zechariah the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:11-20) and Mary the Jesus (Luke 1:26-38).