Discourse on the Angels or Spirits of Empires

...to build. The third is in Rome, in the Fish Market. The fourth is also in Rome, at the Vatican, built by Pope Leo IV following the defeat of the Saracens. The fifth is near Byzantium Now Istanbul, which is made famous (according to common report) by many miracles. The sixth is in the lands of the Gauls, built by a certain holy Bishop, Anspertus. And Procopius, in his book On the Buildings of Justinian, enumerates six Basilicas erected by that same Emperor in honor of Saint Michael. Robert Bellarmine Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) was an influential Jesuit cardinal and a key figure in the Counter-Reformation. says in The Roman Pontiff, book 1, chapter 9, near the beginning, that it is certain and well-explored that among the Angels—besides the supreme King of all, God—there is one who presides over all others. Indeed, from the beginning, he who is now called the Devil was endowed with this dignity. After the fall of the Devil, however, Saint Michael became the Prince of all the Angels; for this reason, in the ecclesiastical office, Saint Michael is designated as the Overseer of Paradise and the Prince of the heavenly host.

But the French original: Franco-Galli boast: that Saint Michael, who was formerly assigned to the Hebrews when they enjoyed the right of divine primogeniture among all peoples, now takes singular care of the most Christian Kings of the French (as they are the first-born sons of the Church). From this, and under the protection of that same Archangel, they established that Order of Knighthood (formerly most illustrious). This refers to the Order of Saint Michael, a French order of chivalry founded by Louis XI in 1469. Claude Duret, History of Languages, chapter 67, page 761.

3. But even if these matters seem overly curious and uncertain to nearly all those who have seceded from the Roman Church A reference to the Protestant reformers who often rejected non-scriptural traditions regarding the hierarchies of saints and angels., nonetheless, the holy and ancient Doctors of the Church, with almost unanimous consent, affirmed that there are specific Angels for empires. Saint Clement Clement of Rome, a 1st-century bishop. The text here refers to the Recognitions, a work traditionally attributed to him but now considered "Pseudo-Clementine." (whom Saint Paul mentions in the letter to the Philippians, and to whom the Epistle to the Hebrews is also attributed), says in Recognitions, Book 2: "There is an Angel for each nation, to whom the administration of that nation has been entrusted by God; who, nevertheless, when he has appeared—even though he might be thought and called 'God' by those over whom he presides—yet, if questioned, he will not give such testimony of himself. For it is the High God, who alone [has] power...