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The phrase choirs of angels does not mean a number of angels singing, as they did to announce to the shepherds that the Savior had been born. Rather, we will be looking at different groups of angels and the hierarchy among them. The Church has nothing doctrinal, no official teaching, on the specifics of these groups of angels, other than that they exist, as named in the Bible and in Tradition. The Bible gives us the following names of the nine choirs: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Vir …

Church teaching, including Scripture and Tradition, holds that angels are purely spiritual beings. Yet we also believe that they occasionally appear to have physical bodies, as in the Scripture stories: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2). Angels do not need bodies for their interactions with God and one another; for that matter, they do not need bodies for their usual interactions with us, giving us spirit …

“Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.” This is how St. Basil, quoted in the Catechism (336), described the role of the guardian angels. Obviously, God does not need the assistance of the angels; he is capable of taking care of people without them. But in his wisdom God has seen fit to assign angels to watch over human beings. Perhaps because Lucifer, the leader of the fallen angels, led human beings to their downfall, it is appropriate …