
Catholic novena
St. Acacius Novena (Hammer, 1909)
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At a glance
Prayer source
Reviewed public-domain English devotional edition (1909)
Bonaventure Hammer, O.F.M., Mary, Help of Christians, and the Fourteen Saints Invoked as Holy Helpers (Benziger Brothers, 1909), Part IV, Novena to Each of the Holy Helpers, IX. Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/33596/pg33596-images.html Calendar verification: Acathius/Acacius the centurion in Roman Martyrology 1916 p.132; Hammer1909. The app edition is the Holy Helper martyr. Hammer explicitly gives May 8. The Martyrology independently lists the centurion under May 8. April 9 belongs to Acatius, bishop of Amida, a different saint. Do not transplant a bishop date onto the Holy Helper martyr or describe it as a universal 1962 feast. Calendar sources: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/33596/pg33596-images.html; https://archive.org/details/romanmartyrology00cathuoft.
Read the source standards- What it is
- A complete novena in honor of St. Achatius, from Father Bonaventure Hammer's 1909 devotional manual. The same full prayer is said on each of the nine days.
- Often prayed for
- Prayed for courage at the hour of death, victory over temptation, and trust in Christ during the final battle.
- Suggested start
- April 29, 2027. You may also begin this novena at any time.
- Length
- 9 days
- Feast
- May 8 (1916 Roman Martyrology commemoration)
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About This Novena
This reading gives the complete older proper edition identified in the source note. It replaces the former incomplete imported text.
Traditionally prayed for
Often prayed for the Fourteen Holy Helpers, final perseverance, agonizing, temptation, and holy death.
Usual timing
April 29 through May 7, or any time
Day 1 of 9
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Day 1
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Preparatory Prayer
ALMIGHTY and eternal God! With lively faith and reverently worshiping Thy divine Majesty, I prostrate myself before Thee and invoke with filial trust Thy supreme bounty and mercy. Illumine the darkness of my intellect with a ray of Thy heavenly light and inflame my heart with the fire of Thy divine love, that I may contemplate the great virtues and merits of the saint in whose honor I make this novena, and following his example imitate, like him, the life of Thy divine Son.
Moreover, I beseech Thee to grant graciously, through the merits and intercession of this powerful Helper, the petition which through him I humbly place before Thee, devoutly saying, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Vouchsafe graciously to hear it, if it redounds to Thy greater glory and to the salvation of my soul. Amen.
Prayer and Invocation
O GOD, who didst fortify Thy holy martyr Achatius with constancy and trustful reliance on Thee in death; grant us through his intercession at the hour of our death to be free from all anxiety and victorious in our last combat with the enemy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Invocation
VALIANT martyr of Christ, St. Achatius, who preached Christ faithfully before kings and judges, and didst gain the victory over the enemies of God; help me through thy powerful intercession to resist and gain the victory over all the enemies of my salvation, over the world and its allurements, over the concupiscence of the flesh, and over the temptations of Satan. I implore thee particularly to assist me in my agony, when the powers of hell rise against me to rob my soul. Then do thou come to my aid and repel the assaults of the enemy, so that I surrender my soul into the hands of my Redeemer in faith, hope, and charity, and confiding in His infinite merits. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Concluding Prayer
MY LORD and my God! I offer up to Thee my petition in union with the bitter passion and death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, together with the merits of His immaculate and blessed Mother, Mary ever virgin, and of all the saints, particularly with those of the holy Helper in whose honor I make this novena.
Look down upon me, merciful Lord! Grant me Thy grace and Thy love, and graciously hear my prayer. Amen.
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About this devotion
Which edition is shown here?
A complete novena in honor of St. Achatius, from Father Bonaventure Hammer's 1909 devotional manual. The same full prayer is said on each of the nine days.
Related devotion
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About this novena
Description
This reading gives the complete older proper edition identified in the source note. It replaces the former incomplete imported text.
Traditionally invoked as patron of
the Fourteen Holy Helpers, final perseverance, agonizing, temptation, holy death
Traditionally prayed for
Often prayed for the Fourteen Holy Helpers, final perseverance, agonizing, temptation, and holy death.
Usual timing
April 29 through May 7, or any time

Saint Acacius, Antonio Molleno
