Before 26 July

Nine days to the grandmother of Our Lord.

St. Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin, is patroness of mothers, grandmothers, women in labour, and those hoping for a child. Her novena is prayed from 17 to 25 July, ending on the eve of her feast, which she shares with St. Joachim.

Prayer for Each Day

Glorious St. Anne, filled with compassion for those who invoke you
and with love for those who suffer:

heavily burdened with the weight of my troubles,
I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg you
to take under your protection the request I now make [name it].

Recommend it to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary,
and lay it before the throne of Jesus,
that He may bring it to a happy outcome.

Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted;
and above all, obtain for me the grace of one day seeing my God face to face,
and with you and Mary and all the saints
praising Him for all eternity. Amen.

For Grandparents

St. Anne and St. Joachim,
who raised the Mother of God and lived to see nothing of what came after:
pray for all grandparents,
who pour themselves into children whose lives they will not see completed.
Give them patience, and the trust to leave the ending to God. Amen.

About This Novena

The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, established by Pope Francis, is kept on the Sunday nearest her feast. The great shrines are Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec and Sainte-Anne-d’Auray in Brittany, both of which have drawn pilgrims for centuries.