How to Pray a Novena: A Simple Guide

A novena is nine days of prayer, said for a particular intention. The word comes from the Latin novem, meaning nine. Many Catholics pray novenas before a feast day, or when they are carrying a worry that they want to place in God's hands.

Where does the novena come from?

The first novena was prayed by the apostles. After the Ascension, Jesus' followers gathered in the Upper Room with Mary and spent days in prayer until the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). Christians have prayed in this way ever since, and the nine days of the novena echo that time of waiting.

How to pray a novena

• Choose your intention. It can be a person, a decision, a worry or a thanksgiving.
• Pick a time you can keep every day, such as after breakfast or before bed.
• Begin with the Sign of the Cross and say the prayer for that day. Many novenas are printed on a small card with a prayer for each day, which makes them easy to follow.
• Add an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be, if you wish.
• Finish by placing your intention in God's hands, and ask that his will be done.
• If you miss a day, simply pick up where you left off.

A novena is not a magic formula. It is a way of praying with patience and trust, and of asking God for what we need while accepting that his answer may not be the one we expect.

Novenas to begin with

• The Novena to the Holy Spirit, the oldest of all, prayed between the Ascension and Pentecost.
• The Divine Mercy Novena, prayed from Good Friday to the day before Divine Mercy Sunday.
• A novena to Our Lady of Knock. Knock Shrine holds an annual novena each August around the anniversary of the apparition on 21 August.
• The novena to Saint Carlo Acutis, which many young people pray before his feast day on 12 October.

We stock Carlo Acutis Novena Cards (€1), a small card with the novena printed on it that fits easily in a pocket or prayer book, and the Carlo Acutis official prayer card and bookmark (€0.50).

One of the best-loved Advent devotions is The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena, which begins on 30 November.

Marian Holy Art is an Irish Catholic company offering unique religious gifts and devotional items inspired by Lourdes, Knock and the Catholic faith. Our products are available exclusively through Marian Holy Art and are sold at Knock Shrine, Ireland.