Traditional Catholic Novena
Novena to St. Paul the First Hermit
Prayed for silence, solitude with God, detachment from the world, perseverance in hardship, and growth in prayer and service.
St. Paul the First Hermit is traditionally invoked as patron of hermits, solitude, prayer, detachment from the world, perseverance.
Saint Paul the Hermit, devotional painting by Mattia Preti
Pray This Novena
Start with day 1
Begin the novena now, move one day at a time, and come back here whenever you are ready for the next day.
Your prayer progress and private intention stay only on this device unless you clear them. How to pray a novena.
Day 1 of 9
The same principal prayer is used each day. Choose the day you are on, pray the main prayer below, and mark the day complete when you finish.
Private intention
This stays only on this device and appears at the intention moment in the prayer.
Day 1 of 9
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Tap any day to jump straight to it. Blue days are already marked complete on this device.
Day 1
Pray the principal prayer below for this day of the novena.
Pause here for your intention.
Traditional Concluding Prayer and Hymn Text
Pray this same prayer each day after the day's meditation.
God, Thou didst grant that Saint Paul, our Father, should achieve sanctity in the desert; grant through his intercession that we, who are striving to develop in ourselves a spirit of prayer and service, may come ever closer to Thee in love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Or:
O God, who didst lead St. Paul our Father into the desert to contemplate the mystery of Thy Holy Name and arrive safely at his eternal dwellings; teach us through his intercession that we may despise worldly pleasures and seek everlasting happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
From the traditional Pauline novena hymns:
Alone with God alone, all proud honours unknown, he fled his heritage, hid in his hermitage, desiring more.
This is his hope for you, withdrawn from sec’lar view, as he sought out a den, which for some time had been, a place most true.
In order to give man the strength for a life’s span, the raven brought repast, daily bread to holdfast, at noontime came.
Pray for us, Saint Paul the Hermit, that we may learn holy silence, patient endurance, and deeper love of God. Amen.
Often said for