Our Lady, Undoer of Knots Novena

October 3, 2026

What Is the Our Lady Undoer of Knots Novena?

Our Lady Undoer of Knots Novena is a nine-day prayer asking Mary’s intercession for the difficult, tangled situations of our lives. The devotion, also called Mary, Untier of Knots, is centered on a Baroque painting in Augsburg, Germany, that depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary carefully untying the knots in a long ribbon while her foot rests upon a serpent. The devotion invites us to bring Mary the “knots” of our own lives — the fears, conflicts, and difficulties we cannot untangle on our own — and to trust her to loosen them through her intercession with her Son.

“Mary, Untier of Knots” by Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtner, c. 1700, St. Peter am Perlach Church, Augsburg, Germany. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

History of the Devotion

According to a longstanding tradition, the devotion is connected with the troubled marriage of Wolfgang Langenmantel and Sophia Rentz in 1612. Wolfgang reportedly sought the help of the Jesuit priest Father Jakob Rem, who prayed before an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary and asked that the knots in the couple’s marriage be untied. The marriage was reconciled. Although this story has become closely associated with the devotion, researchers have not conclusively established that it directly inspired the later painting.

What is documented is that Hieronymus Ambrosius Langenmantel, a canon of St. Peter in Augsburg, donated the altar that bears the image around 1700. Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtner painted Mary, Untier of Knots, which remains in St. Peter am Perlach Church in Augsburg.

The image draws on a much older reflection from Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, a second-century Church Father, who contrasted Eve’s disobedience with Mary’s faithful obedience. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 494, preserves this image of the knot bound by Eve’s unbelief and loosened through Mary’s faith. It also invites reflection on Mary as our model of faith.

For centuries the devotion remained largely local to Germany, though it later became especially popular in Argentina and Brazil. It was Pope Francis who brought the devotion to the whole world. Contrary to a popular but mistaken story, Pope Francis never actually visited Augsburg or saw the original painting in person. In a 2017 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit, he explained that a religious sister he had met while in Germany sent him a Christmas card bearing the image, and it made a deep impression on him. As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he had copies of the image made and devotion to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots spread widely throughout Argentina. After his election as pope in 2013, the devotion spread throughout the world. The devotion is customarily observed on September 28, though it is not a feast on the universal Roman calendar.

What the Painting Shows

The painting presents Mary with imagery associated with the Woman of Revelation: she stands upon a crescent moon beneath a crown of stars, while the Holy Spirit hovers above her in the form of a dove. The serpent beneath her feet alludes to Genesis 3:15 and the Christian tradition of Mary as the New Eve. With great care, she unties the knots of a long ribbon held by angels. The smaller scene below is often interpreted as Tobias being guided by the Archangel Raphael, recalling how God sends His angels to accompany His people through uncertainty and difficulty.

How to Pray the Novena

The Our Lady, Undoer of Knots Novena is prayed over nine consecutive days, bringing a specific knot or difficulty in your life to Mary each day and asking her to untangle it through her intercession with Christ. Begin in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, quietly name your intention where indicated, and pray the novena prayer below.

Our Lady, Undoer of Knots Novena Prayer

Begin each day with the Sign of the Cross. Name the knot or intention you are placing before God, read the day’s meditation, and then pray the Common Novena Prayer.

Common Novena Prayer

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our mother, I place into your hands the knots I cannot loosen by my own strength. Bring this intention to your Son, Jesus Christ, and obtain for me the grace to trust his wisdom, accept his will, forgive where I have been wounded, and take the next faithful step before me.

As you answered God with faith, help me surrender every fear, resentment, and confusion to him. Untie whatever keeps me from loving God and my neighbor, and lead me more deeply into the freedom and peace of Christ.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me. Amen.

Day 1: Trust in God

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pause and name your intention.

Mary, place before your Son the knot that weighs most heavily upon me. When I cannot see a way forward, help me trust that God remains present and at work. Obtain for me the grace to surrender fear and to follow Christ one faithful step at a time.