Free · No sign-up

St Michael chaplet counter · Free · No sign-up

St Michael Chaplet Counter

Short answer

A St Michael chaplet counter keeps your place in the Chaplet of St Michael: nine salutations to the nine choirs of angels, each with one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then four Our Fathers and the closing prayer. This one also keeps the Michaelmas novena, 20 to 28 September.

Free, no sign-up, works offline, and nothing leaves this browser.

Opening · on the medalThe Michaelmas novena begins on 20 SeptemberO God, come…Sign of the Cross, then “O God, come to my assistance…”
Opening0 of 2
Choirs0 of 9
Novena0 of 9
Chaplets prayed
0
Chaplets today
0
Choirs in all
0
Hail Marys
0
Last chaplet
—
Average chaplet
—
Novena and prayers

Space, Enter or + moves on one prayer, so you can pray with your eyes closed; Ctrl+Z goes back one. Keys do nothing while a field has focus, and a held key moves on once. Changing a setting mid-chaplet keeps your place.

Tap once per prayer, or press Space with your eyes closed. The screen names the choir and its petition, keeps your place if the phone locks, and marks the novena day when a chaplet is done.

The Chaplet of St Michael, or Angelic Chaplet, is a Catholic devotion that greets the nine choirs of angels through St Michael the Archangel, one salutation each, with an Our Father and three Hail Marys. Pope Pius IX attached indulgences to it in 1851, and the Raccolta printed it.

  • No sign-up
  • No ads
  • Counts never leave your browser
  • Works offline
  • Unlimited counters

Key facts

St Michael chaplet counter at a glance
DetailAnswer
PriceFree, no sign-up, no ads
What one tap doesMoves on one prayer: a salutation, an Our Father, a Hail Mary, the closing
OrderAs in the Raccolta: Powers fifth, Virtues sixth; the other order is a setting
Prayers in one chaplet9 salutations, 13 Our Fathers, 27 Hail Marys: 53 taps, or 51 or 54
Novena20 to 28 September before Michaelmas, or any nine days
On screenThe prayer, the choir and its petition, the bead and the novena day
TotalsChaplets prayed, chaplets today, choirs, Hail Marys
TimeLast chaplet and the average, leaving out pauses over five minutes
KeyboardSpace, Enter or + moves on; Ctrl+Z goes back
Where your place is keptThis browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere

How to use the St Michael chaplet counter

Match the prayers to your card once, then tap a prayer at a time.

  1. Match your card

    Open Novena and prayers: choose the order of the fifth and sixth choirs, and add the act of contrition or drop the closing if your card does.

  2. Choose the novena

    The novena before Michaelmas, 20 to 28 September, is kept by default; pick My own nine days for another time, or turn it off.

  3. Begin with the opening

    Make the Sign of the Cross, say “O God, come to my assistance” and tap Next prayer, or press Space, Enter or +.

  4. Tap after each prayer

    Each choir is its salutation, an Our Father and three Hail Marys; the board names the choir and what it asks.

  5. Go back after a slip

    Undo or Ctrl+Z steps back one prayer, as often as needed, and also brings back a reset made by mistake.

  6. Finish with the four Our Fathers

    To St Michael, St Gabriel, St Raphael and your Guardian Angel, then the closing; the last tap counts the chaplet.

Who uses a St Michael chaplet counter

Anyone praying the Chaplet of St Michael who wants the place kept, with or without beads.

  • The Michaelmas novena

    Nine days from 20 September, each day lit when its chaplet is done, the feast named on the 29th.

  • Praying without beads

    Travelling, in hospital or at work: the phone keeps the count the 40 beads would.

  • Learning the choirs

    Each salutation names its choir and petition in turn, so the order is learned by praying it.

  • Matching a prayer card

    Set the fifth and sixth choirs to the card in hand, so the board and the card agree.

  • Leading a group

    The choir and the prayer on one screen, for whoever leads the responses.

  • A personal novena

    Nine days for an intention at any time of year, as the Raccolta allows, with a missed day plain to see.

  • Praying with eyes closed

    Space or Enter moves on from anywhere on the page, and vibration marks each choir.

  • Daily devotion

    Chaplets today and in all, with the time each one took, kept in this browser only.

The order of the nine choirs: Powers or Virtues fifth?

This counter keeps your place, counts the prayers and keeps a novena. It does not judge private revelation, or whether a promise or an indulgence applies to anyone; that is set out below. What it does do is follow the chaplet as the Raccolta prints it, the collection of indulgenced prayers in which the Church published it, and say where the versions in circulation part company with it.

They part company at the fifth and sixth salutations. The Raccolta calls the chaplet the “Angelical Crown”, and every edition read for this page, the English translations of 1857, 1878, 1903 and 1910, salutes the Powers fifth and the Virtues sixth. Wikipedia, Aleteia and Hozana, three of the most visible guides, give the Virtues fifth and the Powers sixth, which is the order of the nine choirs in Pseudo-Dionysius’s Celestial Hierarchy. catholic.com’s guide follows the Raccolta. None of them mentions that the other order exists:

The nine salutations of the Chaplet of St Michael, in the Raccolta’s order, with the other order used in many guides
SalutationRaccolta (1857 to 1910)Many leafletsWhat the Raccolta asks, “by the intercession of St Michael” and the choir
1SeraphimSeraphimto receive “the fire of his perfect charity”
2CherubimCherubim“grace to abandon the ways of sin, and follow the path of Christian perfection”
3ThronesThrones“a true and earnest spirit of humility”
4DominationsDominions“dominion over our senses”, and to correct our passions
5PowersVirtuesPowers: “to keep our souls from the wiles and temptations of the devil”
6VirtuesPowersVirtues: “keep us from falling into temptations and deliver us from evil”
7PrincipalitiesPrincipalities“the spirit of true and hearty obedience”
8ArchangelsArchangels“the gift of perseverance in the faith and in all good works”
9AngelsAngelsthat the holy Angels “protect us during life, and after death may lead us into the everlasting glory of heaven”

Each petition belongs to its choir, so a leaflet that moves the Virtues up moves their petition with them; nothing is lost either way. The counter follows the Raccolta by default and offers the other order as a setting, so the board matches the card in your hand. Changing it mid-chaplet keeps your place: you stay on the fifth salutation, and only its choir changes.

Two smaller differences are settings too. The 1857 Raccolta begins with “an act of sincere contrition by way of preface, kneeling before a representation of the holy Archangel”; the 1878 and 1910 editions begin straight at “O God, come to my assistance” and the Glory Be. And the Raccolta ends with an antiphon, “Michael, glorious Prince, chief and champion of the heavenly host”, a versicle and a closing prayer, which some guides leave out. Sources: The Raccolta, tr. Ambrose St John (1857), pp. 254 to 258; Woodstock College edition (1878), no. 137; The New Raccolta (1903); Burns & Oates edition (1910), no. 291; all read on archive.org 2026-10-14; Wikipedia, Chaplet of Saint Michael, read the same day.

Who received it, and what Pius IX did in 1851

Most pages tell the same story: St Michael appeared to a Portuguese Carmelite, Antonia d’Astonac, asked to be honoured by nine salutations to the nine choirs, and made promises to those who pray them; Pope Pius IX approved the chaplet in 1851. They do not agree on the date of the vision (Wikipedia gives 1750, catholic.com 1751, Aleteia the 19th century), and catholic.com says plainly that a primary source for the apparition “seems impossible to find”. The Raccolta of 1857, published six years after the decree, tells it more cautiously:

The origin of the Chaplet of St Michael: what the 1857 Raccolta says, and what later pages add
PointThe Raccolta, 1857Pages in the search results
Who received it“a holy personage”, by “pious tradition”Antonia d’Astonac, by name
The nun“a holy Carmelite nun, of the convent of Vetralla, in the diocese of Viterbo, who died with the reputation of sanctity in the year 1751”, who “made it her delight to practise” ita Portuguese Carmelite; Hozana names a Sister Marie-Colombe of Vetralla as the one who spread it
What was promisedthat St Michael “would repay those who practised this devotion with signal favours, particularly in such times as the Catholic Church should experience some special trial”nine angels, one from each choir, to escort you to Holy Communion; the help of St Michael and the angels through life; deliverance from Purgatory for you and your relatives
What Pius IX didgranted indulgences, “by a decree of the S. Congr. of Rites, dated August 8, 1851”, at the prayer of the nuns of her convent“approved the chaplet”

So the 1851 act was an indulgence grant, made at the Vetralla convent’s request, with the devotion’s origin recorded as a tradition. The promises most pages print are not in the Raccolta at all; Wikipedia marks them “purportedly” and without a citation. Private revelation, approved or not, binds no one, and the counter takes no view of it: it keeps your place whichever story you were taught.

The Michaelmas novena: 20 to 28 September

The feast of St Michael is 29 September, Michaelmas. Since the calendar reform of 1969 it is the feast of all three archangels named in Scripture, St Michael, St Gabriel and St Raphael, whose separate days were joined to it. A novena before it runs from 20 to 28 September, and parishes often pray the chaplet as that novena, once a day. The date never moves, so the counter has nothing to compute; what it keeps is which of the nine days you actually prayed:

The Michaelmas novena, 2027 to 2030: the nine days and the feast
YearDay 1Day 9Michaelmas
2027Monday 20 SeptemberTuesday 28 SeptemberWednesday 29 September
2028Wednesday 20 SeptemberThursday 28 SeptemberFriday 29 September
2029Thursday 20 SeptemberFriday 28 SeptemberSaturday 29 September
2030Friday 20 SeptemberSaturday 28 SeptemberSunday 29 September

A chaplet counts for the day it was begun on, and only once, however many you pray that day; one begun at 11:50 pm on the 24th and finished after midnight is the 24th’s. Before 20 September the board says when the novena begins, on the 29th it names the feast, and the day after it moves on to next year’s. The Raccolta itself (1910, no. 290) says a novena to St Michael “may be made at any time of the year”, so My own nine days starts the row from today instead. A missed day stays unlit and the others still count.

Some Franciscans keep a longer devotion, the “Lent of St Michael”, from the day after the Assumption to 29 September, after St Francis, who kept it on La Verna in 1224. It is called a Lent but runs about 45 days, and the counter does not keep it as a row; its Chaplets prayed and Chaplets today totals count every chaplet whatever the season.

How many beads and prayers: 40 beads, 53 taps

“How many beads on a St Michael chaplet” gets four answers from the shops: 31, 36, 39 and 40. The Raccolta settles what the beads are for. To gain its indulgences “a Chaplet must be used consisting of nine Pater noster and three Ave Maria after each Pater noster, with four Pater noster at the end” (1857), which is 40 beads: 9 large and 27 small in nine groups, and 4 more, usually on a short pendant by the medal of St Michael. A chaplet sold as 36 beads is the nine groups of four alone; Hozana’s 39 does not add up against its own description; a 31-bead chaplet is something else. The counter takes one tap a prayer, so its taps are the prayers:

Prayers in the Chaplet of St Michael, by setting, beside the Divine Mercy chaplet and a five-decade rosary
What is prayedSalutationsOur FathersHail MarysTaps on this counter
As in the 1910 Raccolta (opening, nine choirs, four Our Fathers, closing)9132753
With the act of contrition, as in 18579132754
Without the antiphon and closing prayer9132751
The Divine Mercy chaplet, for comparison—1161
A five-decade rosary, for comparison—65372

The 53 taps are the versicle and the Glory Be, then for each choir its salutation, an Our Father and three Hail Marys (5 taps, 45 in all), then the four Our Fathers, to St Michael, St Gabriel, St Raphael and your Guardian Angel, then the antiphon and the closing prayer. The other two rows are explained on the Divine Mercy chaplet counter and the rosary counter. The Catholic Company puts the St Michael chaplet at under fifteen minutes; the counter times yours, leaving out any pause over five minutes, and averages your last ten.

Which bead is which

The Raccolta heads each salutation “Pater once, Ave thrice, to the first angelic choir” and does not say whether the salutation comes before or after them. The usual practice, and the counter’s, is the salutation first, on the large bead, then the Our Father on the same bead and the three Hail Marys on the small ones. The four closing Our Fathers are said on the four pendant beads: since those hang by the medal, some guides, Hozana among them, describe them first, but the Raccolta says them “in conclusion”. Without beads, the rows do the same job: four dots for a choir, nine for the choirs, nine for the novena.

Indulgences and promises: what the counter cannot tell you

The counter records which button was pressed. Nothing on this page can tell you whether an indulgence or a promise applies to anyone; that is a question for a priest. What the page can do is set the 1851 grant beside what the Church has decided since, because pages still quote the old figures as if they stood.

The indulgences of 1851 for the Chaplet of St Michael, as the Raccolta lists them, and what changed in 1967 and 1968
The 1851 decree, as printed in the RaccoltaSince 1967 and 1968
Seven years and seven quarantines, every time the chaplet is saidIndulgences are no longer measured in days or years (Indulgentiarum Doctrina, norm 4); a partial indulgence is simply “partial”
100 days, daily, for carrying the chaplet or kissing its medal of the holy AngelsThe same; and the 1968 Enchiridion Indulgentiarum replaced the earlier grants without naming this chaplet
Plenary, once a month, for saying it daily, with confession, Communion and prayer for the Church and the PopeNot in the Enchiridion
Plenary on five feasts: the Apparition of St Michael (8 May), his Dedication (29 September), St Gabriel (18 March), St Raphael (24 October), the Guardian Angels (2 October)The feasts themselves changed: Gabriel and Raphael were joined to 29 September in 1969, the Guardian Angels stay on 2 October, and 8 May is no longer in the General Roman Calendar
Only on a chaplet blessed by a priest with the facultyThe Enchiridion has a general grant for using a properly blessed object of devotion, such as a rosary or a medal

The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001) does not mention the chaplet either. None of this makes the chaplet less of a prayer; it means the “seven years” on a holy card describes a grant that has been replaced, and the promises in the origin story are not in the Raccolta. Sources: the Raccolta editions above; Wikipedia, Indulgentiarum Doctrina; Wikipedia, Chaplet of Saint Michael, on the Enchiridion and the Directory. All read 2026-10-14.

Online counter vs a clicker, an app, paper and a spreadsheet

Every counting method trades something away. This is what each one actually costs you.

St Michael chaplet counter compared with the alternatives
FeatureThis online counterHandheld clickerCounter phone appPen and paperSpreadsheet
CostFree$5–$15Free with ads, or paidCost of paperSubscription
Anything to installNoBuy the deviceApp store downloadNoYes, or a web login
Several counts at onceUnlimitedOne per deviceUsually limitedYes, messyYes
Fix a miscountUndo and redoStart overSometimesCross it outEdit the cell
Counts by more than oneAny step sizeOne at a timeSometimesManual mathsYes
Below zeroYesNoRarelyYesYes
Keeps the count if you close itSaves automaticallyUntil you reset the dialYesIf you keep the paperYes
Works with no signalYes, after first loadYesYesYesOften not
Keyboard and shortcutsFullNoneNoneNonePartial
Sends your data anywhereNeverNeverOften, for accounts and adsNeverYes, to the cloud

Other counter types

The same counter, set up and explained for a specific job. Your counters are shared across all of them.

Everyday6

The general-purpose counters: one number, many numbers, or counting on a timer.

Sport & scores32

Scoreboards that know the rules of their game, not just two numbers that go up.

Fitness & health6

Reps, laps, breaths and daily habits, where the count is part of the activity.

Work & field5

Counting that produces a record someone else relies on: stock, occupancy, lab work.

Faith5

Counts with their own rules about when a day turns over and what completes a set.

Frequently asked questions

How do you pray the St Michael Chaplet?

Make the Sign of the Cross and say “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me” and the Glory Be. Then nine salutations, one to each choir of angels from the Seraphim to the Angels, each followed by one Our Father and three Hail Marys. Finish with four Our Fathers, to St Michael, St Gabriel, St Raphael and your Guardian Angel, and the closing prayer.

What is the order of the nine choirs in the St Michael Chaplet?

In the Raccolta, which printed the chaplet from 1851: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Powers, Virtues, Principalities, Archangels, Angels. Many leaflets, Wikipedia and Aleteia put the Virtues fifth and the Powers sixth, the order of Pseudo-Dionysius. Each petition goes with its choir, so neither order loses anything; the counter offers both.

How many beads are on a St Michael chaplet?

Forty for the prayers the Raccolta gives: nine large beads and 27 small ones in nine groups, one Our Father and three Hail Marys to each choir, and four more for the closing Our Fathers, usually on a pendant with a medal of St Michael. Shops also sell 36, 39 and 31-bead versions, which leave something out or follow another design.

How long does it take to pray the St Michael Chaplet?

Usually five to fifteen minutes; the Catholic Company puts it at under fifteen. It is 53 short prayers as the 1910 Raccolta gives it: nine salutations, 13 Our Fathers, 27 Hail Marys, the Glory Be and the closing. The counter times each chaplet, leaving out any pause over five minutes, and shows the last and the average of your last ten.

When is the St Michael novena?

From 20 to 28 September, the nine days before Michaelmas, the feast of St Michael, St Gabriel and St Raphael on 29 September. Parishes often pray the chaplet as that novena. The Raccolta says a novena to St Michael may be made at any time of the year, so the counter also keeps any nine days you choose.

Can you pray the St Michael Chaplet without beads?

Yes. The Raccolta asked for blessed beads only to gain its 1851 indulgences, and those grants were replaced in 1968; the prayers themselves need no beads. Counting on your fingers works, and so does a counter: one tap a prayer, a choir shown as four dots, and the choir and novena day kept if you are interrupted.

What are the promises of the St Michael Chaplet?

Popular pages list three: nine angels to escort you to Holy Communion, the help of St Michael and the angels through life, and deliverance from Purgatory for you and your relatives. They are not in the Raccolta, which records only a tradition that St Michael would grant “signal favours”, especially when the Church is tried. Either way it is private revelation.

Who approved the Chaplet of St Michael?

Pope Pius IX, by a decree of the Congregation of Rites of 8 August 1851, granted indulgences to it at the request of the Carmelite nuns of Vetralla, near Viterbo. The 1857 Raccolta says one of their sisters, who died in 1751, had practised it, and records its origin as a pious tradition, not a verified apparition.

Is there an indulgence for the St Michael Chaplet?

Pius IX granted seven years and seven quarantines each time, and plenary indulgences monthly and on five angel feasts. Those grants were replaced: since 1967 indulgences are not counted in years, and the 1968 Enchiridion Indulgentiarum does not name the chaplet. Whether a current grant applies is a question for a priest; the counter has no bearing either way.

Counting guides

Longer answers to the questions behind the counting.

People also search for

Open the st michael chaplet counter

Free, no sign-up, and your counts stay in your own browser.

Open the counter Browse counting guides