St. Michael Prayer, word by wordFree for 7 days
An oil painting of nine small votive candles in a row on a worn stone ledge below a plain wooden cross, the first ones burnt low

Nine days of prayer

Catholic Novenas

Nine days of asking God for one thing: the novenas Catholics pray most, when each one starts, and how to keep going.

Pray the Surrender Novena ›

A novena is nine days of prayer for one intention, modeled on the days Mary and the apostles prayed together between the Ascension and Pentecost. AngelGuard gives the prayers for the best-loved novenas and, for those tied to a feast, dates that end the day before the feast.

What to pray now

Find the novena you need

Novenas

Surrender novenaTen times a day: “O Jesus, I surrender myself to you”Divine Mercy novenaEach day a different group of souls, from sinners to the lukewarmSt. Jude novenaFor desperate causes: October 19 to 27, or begin on any daySt. Joseph novenaFor work, a home and a happy death: March 10 to 18Mary, Undoer of Knots novenaFor an estrangement, a strained marriage, or a habit you cannot undoThe 54-day Rosary novenaTwenty-seven days asking, twenty-seven giving thanks, begun any daySt. Andrew Christmas novena“Hail and blessed be the hour”: one prayer, fifteen times a dayChristmas novenaNine nights to Bethlehem, December 16 to Christmas EveSacred Heart novenaNine days asking for a heart made less hardSt. Peregrine novenaFor someone with cancer, and for those who care for themOur Lady of Lourdes novenaFor the sick and the people caring for them, February 2 to 10St. Thérèse novenaTwenty-four Glory Bes a day, and the truth about the rosePadre Pio novenaThe three petitions he prayed each day for everyone who askedMiraculous Medal novena“O Mary, conceived without sin”: November 18 to 26Immaculate Conception novenaNine days with Mary Immaculate, November 29 to December 7St. Dymphna novenaFor anxiety and depression, your own or a loved one'sOur Lady of Guadalupe novenaSt. John Paul II's prayer to her, December 3 to 11St. Michael novenaAsk the archangel's protection each day, September 20 to 28
“All these were persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”
Acts 1:14 (the apostles after the Ascension, before Pentecost), Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision

Questions people ask

Why nine days?

The custom looks to the first chapter of Acts: after the Ascension the apostles returned to Jerusalem and prayed with Mary until the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. Tradition counts those days as nine, and every later novena repeats their shape: a fixed period of asking, held together, before an answer. The number is not a formula. It is an inheritance.

When should a novena be prayed?

Most feast-day novenas are timed so the ninth day falls on the eve of the feast: count back nine days from the feast and begin there. That is a custom rather than a rule. A novena prayed in the middle of an ordinary week because something has gone wrong is just as valid, and that is when most people actually pray one. Each page here gives both: the feast-day timing and the plain answer that you can start today.

Does a novena stop working if you miss a day?

No. The nine unbroken days are a discipline, not a mechanism, and nothing is voided by a missed day. Carry on from where you are rather than starting again. Be cautious of any version of a novena that promises a specific outcome in exchange for a specific number of repetitions. That framing turns prayer into a transaction, and it is not how the Church understands asking God for anything.