What Is a Novena? Meaning and How to Pray One

A novena is a prayer said over nine days. You ask God for a particular grace, or you prepare for a feast, and you pray the same prayer each day until the ninth. The word comes from the Latin novem, which means nine.

Where novenas come from

The model comes from the Acts of the Apostles. After the Ascension, the disciples returned to Jerusalem and “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer” with Mary. Pentecost followed ten days after the Ascension, so the Church has long seen those days as a first novena. Acts does not tell us to pray for nine days. The custom grew out of that scene.

Over the centuries Catholics prayed nine-day novenas before feasts and for special needs. The Church supports the practice as a form of popular devotion.

How a novena works

You choose an intention. You pick a prayer. You pray it every day for nine days.

Many novenas include:

1. The Sign of the Cross
2. A prayer or invocation to God, Mary, or a saint
3. Your intention, said in your own words
4. An Our Father and a Hail Mary

You can start on any day. Some novenas are timed so the ninth day lands on a feast. The Divine Mercy Novena, for example, begins on Good Friday and ends the day before Divine Mercy Sunday. See the Divine Mercy Novena.

Why nine days?

Nine days gives prayer time to settle. It asks for persistence. Jesus told his followers to ask, seek, and knock, and the Catechism teaches that we should pray with perseverance and trust.

A novena also changes the one who prays. You return to the same intention each day, and your heart often shifts along the way.

Common novenas

• Divine Mercy Novena: nine days leading to Divine Mercy Sunday
• St. Jude Novena: often prayed in hard or hopeless situations
• St. Andrew Christmas Novena: prayed from November 30 through Christmas Eve, though not for nine days

Tips for praying a novena

• Pick a set time each day.
• Write down your intention.
• Pray in a quiet place when you can.
• Accept the answer you receive, even when it is not the one you hoped for.

A novena does not replace the sacraments. Pair it with Mass and Confession. For other forms of prayer, see daily prayer.