Rosary & Mercy
Our Lady of Guadalupe Novena
In December 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared four times to Juan Diego, an Indigenous convert, on the hill of Tepeyac outside Mexico City, and left her image on his cloak, the tilma, which still hangs in the Basilica of Guadalupe. This novena walks through that story one day at a time. Each day has a short reading of what happened, a verse from Scripture and a prayer, followed by the Memorare. The daily prayers were written by the Rosary & Mercy editors for this page; the Memorare and the Magnificat are the Church's traditional prayers. For the story itself we follow the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia and the traditional account, the Nican Mopohua, written in Nahuatl and first printed in 1649.
Key takeaways
- Pray it from December 3 to 11, 2026, so it ends the evening before the feast on Saturday, December 12.
- Each day follows one moment of what happened on Tepeyac hill in December 1531, from Juan Diego's walk to Mass to the image on his cloak.
- Every day ends with the Memorare; the last day adds Mary's own prayer, the Magnificat.
- Our Lady of Guadalupe is patroness of the Americas, and St. Juan Diego's feast is December 9.
The prayer for every day
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.
(Each day: make the Sign of the Cross and name your intention, read the day's story and verse, pray the day's prayer, then this Memorare, an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be.)
Day by day
1On the road to Mass
Early on a December morning in 1531, Juan Diego, a man in his fifties who had become a Christian a few years before, was walking to Mass. "I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord" (Psalm 121 (122):1).
Holy Mary of Guadalupe, you met Juan Diego on an ordinary morning, on his way to worship. Meet me in the ordinary road of my days. Keep me faithful to Mass and to prayer when it is cold, early and inconvenient, and let me find God waiting where I least expect him. Amen.
Pray day 1 along2:462The Lady on Tepeyac
On the hill of Tepeyac he heard singing and saw a young woman, radiant as the sun, who called him by name and spoke to him in his own language. "He hath regarded the humility of his handmaid" (Luke 1:48).
Mother of God, you chose a poor man and spoke to him in his own tongue. Teach me that no one is too small for God to notice, myself included. Help me hear him in my own language, in the circumstances of my own life, and answer as you did: let it be done. Amen.
Pray day 2 along2:453A church on the hill
She told him she was the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, and asked that a church be built there, where she would show her love to all who came to her. "Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it" (Psalm 126 (127):1).
Our Lady of Guadalupe, you asked for a house where you could console your children. Make room in my heart for God, and in my home for anyone who needs mercy. Bless every church built in your name, and the people who pray in them. Amen.
Pray day 3 along2:434Not believed
Juan Diego went straight to Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, who listened kindly but did not believe him. He went back to the hill and asked her to send someone more important. "Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage" (Psalm 26 (27):14).
Holy Mary, Juan Diego felt too small for what you asked, and you sent him back anyway. When I am not believed, or feel unequal to what God asks of me, give me his honesty and his perseverance. Keep me from giving up on a good thing because it is hard. Amen.
Pray day 4 along2:455Asking for a sign
On his second visit the bishop asked for a sign that the message was really from heaven. Mary promised to give one the next day. "Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed" (John 20:29).
Mother of the true God, we so often ask for signs. Give me the faith to trust while I wait, and the patience to let God answer in his own time. Strengthen everyone whose prayers seem unanswered tonight. Amen.
Pray day 5 along2:356For the sick: the uncle's illness
But Juan Diego's uncle, Juan Bernardino, fell gravely ill, and Juan Diego spent the next day caring for him. Sent to fetch a priest, he took another road around the hill so as not to be delayed by the Lady. "Can a woman forget her infant... yet will not I forget thee" (Isaiah 49:15).
Our Lady of Guadalupe, health of the sick, Juan Diego tried to go around you, and you came to meet him anyway. I bring you everyone I know who is ill, especially (name them). Ask your Son to heal them in body and soul, and to comfort those who care for them. Amen.
Pray day 6 along2:527"Am I not here, who am your mother?"
She met him on the other road and told him not to be troubled or afraid: was she not there, his mother? His uncle, she said, was already well. The account says that at that same hour she appeared to Juan Bernardino and healed him. "Behold thy mother" (John 19:27).
Holy Mary, you told Juan Diego not to be afraid, because you were there and you were his mother. Say it to me too, in whatever I am afraid of tonight. Take my worries into your hands, and let me rest in your care as a child rests in his mother's arms. Amen.
Pray day 7 along2:508Roses in December
She sent him to the top of the hill, where nothing grew in winter, to gather flowers. He found Castilian roses in bloom, and she arranged them in his tilma herself. "The wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily" (Isaiah 35:1).
Our Lady of Guadalupe, you made roses bloom on a frozen hill. Where my life feels barren, bring something to flower. Give hope to everyone who is waiting, and help me notice the gifts God is already growing. Amen.
Pray day 8 along2:429The image on the tilma
In front of the bishop, Juan Diego opened his tilma. The roses fell to the floor, and on the cloth was the image of the Virgin, which can still be seen in the Basilica of Guadalupe. The bishop knelt, and the church was built. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels" (2 Corinthians 4:7). On this last day, add the Magnificat below.
Holy Mary of Guadalupe, you left your image on the rough cloak of a poor man. Leave your likeness on my life too, so that people see your Son in me. Thank you for these nine days. Present my intention to Jesus, and keep me close to him always. Amen.
Pray day 9 along3:49
Closing prayer
The Magnificat, Mary's song (Luke 1:46-55), for the ninth day:
My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
Get a reminder for each day of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Novena.
Start praying with Rosary & MercyQuestions people ask
Is there a novena for Our Lady of Guadalupe?
Yes. Many parishes pray one in the nine days before her feast on December 12. The one on this page follows the story of 1531 day by day; its daily prayers were written by the Rosary & Mercy editors, and it ends each day with the traditional Memorare.
When do you start the Our Lady of Guadalupe Novena?
December 3, so the ninth day is December 11, the eve of the feast. In 2026 that is Thursday, December 3 to Friday, December 11. If you would rather finish on the feast itself, start on December 4.
What is the prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe for healing?
Day 6 of this novena is a prayer for the sick, because the story includes a healing: Juan Diego's uncle recovered on the day of the last apparition. Pray it for anyone who is ill. Like every prayer, it asks; it does not guarantee (CCC 2735-2737).
What happened at Guadalupe?
Between December 9 and 12, 1531, Mary appeared to Juan Diego on Tepeyac hill and asked for a church to be built there. When the bishop asked for a sign, she sent Juan Diego with roses gathered in winter, and when he opened his cloak before the bishop, her image was on it. The cloak is kept in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Who was St. Juan Diego?
An Indigenous Mexican layman, baptized in the 1520s, who spent the rest of his life caring for the chapel at Tepeyac. St. John Paul II canonized him in Mexico City on July 31, 2002. His feast is December 9.
Has the Church approved Guadalupe?
The Church has honored it for centuries: Pope Benedict XIV approved a feast and Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1754 and named her patroness of New Spain, and Pope Pius XII called her Empress of the Americas in 1945. Like all private revelation, it is not part of the faith Catholics must believe (CCC 67), but it is one of the most loved Marian devotions in the world.
Keep praying
Sources: Catholic Encyclopedia (1910), "Shrine of Guadalupe" · Nican Mopohua (traditional account, printed 1649) · Pius XII, radio message to Mexico, October 12, 1945 · Catechism of the Catholic Church 67, 2735-2737 · Douay-Rheims Bible: Psalm 121 (122):1, Luke 1:46-55, Psalm 126 (127):1, Psalm 26 (27):14, John 20:29, Isaiah 49:15, John 19:27, Isaiah 35:1, 2 Corinthians 4:7