The Novena of Grace
Also known as Novena to St. Francis Xavier ยท Novena of Grace
The Novena of Grace is a nine-day devotion to Saint Francis Xavier. Its structure is unusual: the prayers are the same on every one of the nine days, except for one prayer that honors a different choir of angels each day, moving in sequence from the Angels to the Seraphim.
The nine days
Drawn from the public-domain source cited at the foot of this page.
- Day 1 The Angels The first choir, offered with the merits of Saint Francis Xavier for the particular grace sought.
- Day 2 The Archangels Those entrusted, in the words of the source, with the most weighty concerns of God's glory and the good of men.
- Day 3 The Principalities Those through whom, by the disposition of the divine will, mankind is enlightened, instructed, and governed.
- Day 4 The Powers Those to whom it especially belongs to curb the infernal spirits.
- Day 5 The Virtues Those by whose means God works miracles and prodigies peculiar to his sovereign power.
- Day 6 The Dominations Those who as ministers of providence preside over the inferior spirits.
- Day 7 The Thrones Those on whom God is said to repose as on the seat of his glory and the chair of his majesty.
- Day 8 The Cherubim Those adorned with the most perfect wisdom.
- Day 9 The Seraphim Those inflamed with the most ardent love of God, closing the novena.
History
Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was one of the first companions of Ignatius of Loyola and a founding member of the Society of Jesus. He spent the last decade of his life as a missionary in India, the Malay Archipelago, and Japan, and died on an island off the coast of China while attempting to enter that country. He was canonized in 1622, on the same day as Ignatius.
The Novena of Grace takes its name from the graces reported by those who prayed it. It is traditionally associated with the Italian Jesuit Marcello Mastrilli, who attributed his recovery from a severe injury in 1633 to Xavier's intercession and promoted the novena thereafter. It is usually prayed from March 4 to March 12, the latter date being the anniversary of Xavier's canonization, though it is also prayed in the nine days before his feast on December 3.
The nine-choir structure used here is set out plainly in the source: the prayers of the novena are the same every day, except the prayer in honor of the Angels, which commemorates each of the nine choirs in succession. The same nine-choir sequence appears independently in an English devotional book of 1852, which corroborates the arrangement.
How it is prayed
Prayed on nine consecutive days, traditionally from March 4 to March 12, and also in the nine days before the feast of Saint Francis Xavier on December 3. On each day the same set of prayers is said, with one exception: the prayer in honor of the angels changes, taking a different one of the nine choirs each day in the order below. Each day's angelic prayer offers to God the merits of that choir together with the merits of Xavier himself, and asks both for the grace to fulfil one's duties and for the particular grace sought in the novena.
Common questions
Why is it called the Novena of Grace?
When is the Novena of Grace prayed?
Why does each day honor a different choir of angels?
Preces Xaverianae: Novena in Honour of St. Francis Xavier (1877), which sets out the nine-choir structure and the prayer for each day. The same nine-choir sequence appears independently in Prayers and Devotional Exercises at the Immaculate Conception (1852). Public domain by age.
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