This Prayer to St. Francis Xavier is the Novena of Grace, the beloved Jesuit novena that has asked his intercession for nearly four centuries. The traditional Collect of his feast, December 3, follows.
O most lovable and loving Saint Francis Xavier, in union with thee I adore the Divine Majesty. The remembrance of the favors with which God blessed thee during life and of thy glory after death fills me with joy, and I unite with thee in offering Him my humble tribute of thanksgiving and of praise. I implore thee to secure for me, through thy powerful intercession, the inestimable blessing of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beseech thee to obtain the favor I ask in this Novena. (Here recommend your intentions.) But if what I ask is not for the glory of God, and the good of my soul, do thou obtain for me what is most conducive to both. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
St. Francis Xavier, Japanese portrait, early 17th century, Kobe City Museum. Public domain.
O God, Who wast pleased to gather into Thy Church the nations of the Indies by the preaching and miracles of blessed Francis: mercifully grant that we, who venerate his glorious merits, may also imitate the example of his virtues. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
The Novena of Grace is prayed for nine days, traditionally from March 4 to 12, ending on the anniversary of his canonization, and many also pray it from November 24 to December 2, before his feast. Pray it once a day, name your intention where the prayer invites it, and close with an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. The text follows a Baltimore novena booklet printed with the imprimatur of Archbishop Michael J. Curley, and the Collect is from the traditional Roman Missal (propers for December 3).
St. Francis Xavier (1506–1552) was one of the first companions of St. Ignatius of Loyola in the Society of Jesus. He preached the Gospel in India, the Moluccas and Japan, baptized multitudes, and died on December 3, 1552, on an island off the coast of China while waiting to enter the country. He was canonized in 1622. EWTN’s biography gives the full story.
According to the Jesuit tradition, in 1633 St. Francis Xavier obtained the cure of Fr. Marcellus Mastrilli, a dying young Jesuit, who then spread devotion to him. So many favors were reported through the novena that the faithful came to call it the Novena of Grace.
He is patron of the foreign missions, a title Pope Pius XI also gave to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and he is invoked by missionaries and all who carry the faith to others.
