The Jesuit Community of Western New York invites the Canisius campus to join them in praying the “Novena of Grace,” in honor of St. Francis of Xavier, from March 4 – 12.
A Novena is a nine-day program that offers a set of prayers to St. Francis Xavier for a special intercession. It concludes on March 12, which is the date in 1622 when both Ignatius Loyola and Francis Xavier were declared saints.
According to Rev. Fred Betti, SJ, chaplain of mission and ministry, the Novena has been held for more than 124 years in Western New York, traditionally hosted by St. Michael’s and St. Ann’s churches, and attracts the faithful from far and wide. Over the course of the years, “many apparent cures and prayers have been answered,” says Father Betti. He continues, “The Novena was so popular in Buffalo culture that former Canisius faculty member, Roger Dooley, in his novel, The House of Shanahan, set an entire chapter of the protagonist’s adventures inside St. Michael’s Church during the March Novena.”
This year, in light of the reorganization of the Jesuits, the Novena is being offered at Christ the King Chapel, which is now home to a historic statue of Xavier – recovered from the former St. Ann’s Jesuit Church on Broadway.
The origins of the Novena date back to 1634 in Naples, Italy when a Jesuit, (Mastrilli) suffered a traumatic brain injury and, at the point of death, he had a vision of St. Francis Xavier and was instantly cured.
The Novena will be offered on the following days and times:
Wednesday, March 6 / 5:15 p.m. Mass
Saturday, March 9 / 12:05 p.m. Mass
Sunday, March 10 / 9:30 a.m. Mass
Submitted by: University Communications
