The name Gabriel means "The Power of God" or "Hero of God" in Hebrew. Is one of seven archangels who "Stand before God", and he seems to be in particular way the messenger of glad or consoling tidings. Thus, we read in the Book of Daniel (ch8) that it was St. Gabriel who explained the vision of the ram and foretold the fall of the Persian Empire at the hands of Alexander the Great.
The very next chapter records his prophecy concerning the coming of Christ after "70 weeks" of years. In the New Testament we are told of how he appeared to Zachary in the Temple and announced to him the coming birth of his son St. John the Baptist.
But above all he is known as the "Angel of the annunciation" – it was he who informed Mary that she had been chosen to become the Mother of the incarnate word. In Jewish tradition, Gabriel was taken to be the Angel of Judgment as at Sodom and against the army of Sennacherib, and it was he who supposed to mark the foreheads of the elect.
Christian tradition also attributes to St. Gabriel the message given to the shepherds at Bethlehem and to St. Joseph in connection with the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, and believes that it was he who "strengthened" our Lord in the Garden of Olives on the night of His Betrayal. Notably, Mohammed, in the Qur'an, considered St. Gabriel the head of all Angels, and claimed that he had received his revelations from him. In 1951, Pope Pius XII proclaimed him the patron of all communication, arts, particularly television.
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