Novena to St. Peregrine

Cancer patients, the sick, those suffering serious or incurable illness

Tradition: Servite (Order of the Servants of Mary); St. Peregrine Laziosi (c. 1260–1345) is honored as the patron of cancer patients after the miraculous healing of his own cancerous leg

Associated feast: Feast of St. Peregrine Laziosi (May 1; in some calendars May 4)

When to pray: This novena may be prayed on any nine consecutive days, and is especially turned to by those facing cancer or serious illness, whether for themselves or for loved ones. It may be begun in the nine days before his feast on May 1.

About this devotion

St. Peregrine Laziosi was born around 1260 in Forlì, Italy. As a young man he was hostile to the Church, and once struck St. Philip Benizi, a Servite friar, who responded only with meekness — a witness that converted Peregrine entirely. He entered the Order of the Servants of Mary (the Servites) and gave himself to prayer, penance, and tireless charity toward the poor and the sick.

Late in life Peregrine developed a cancer in his leg so severe that the physicians determined it must be amputated. The night before the operation, he dragged himself before an image of the crucified Christ and spent the night in prayer. In a vision, the Lord seemed to reach down from the Cross and touch the diseased leg. When the surgeon arrived in the morning, the cancer was completely gone, with no trace of the disease. Peregrine lived for many years afterward and died around 1345. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726, and is universally invoked as the patron of those suffering from cancer.

This nine-day novena follows the traditional devotion to St. Peregrine preserved by EWTN, recited with one's particular intention for the sick. Each day meditates on an aspect of his life or of Christian hope in suffering, and concludes with the traditional novena prayer to St. Peregrine, in which the names of the sick are silently commended to his powerful intercession.

The Nine Days

1. Day 1: Conversion of heart, after the example of St. Peregrine

   Scripture: Matthew 5:44

2. Day 2: A ready spirit to answer God’s call

   Scripture: Isaiah 6:8

3. Day 3: Charity toward the poor and the suffering

   Scripture: Matthew 25:40

4. Day 4: Patience in suffering, in union with the crucified Christ

   Scripture: Colossians 1:24

5. Day 5: Christ the Healer, who touched the diseased leg

   Scripture: Matthew 8:2-3

6. Day 6: For all who suffer from cancer and serious illness

   Scripture: James 5:14-15

7. Day 7: Resignation to the will of God

   Scripture: Luke 22:42

8. Day 8: Hope of eternal glory through the Cross

   Scripture: Romans 8:18

9. Day 9: Thanksgiving and confident intercession

   Scripture: Psalm 103:2-3

Daily Novena Prayer

Novena Prayer to St. Peregrine

Glorious wonder-worker, St. Peregrine, you answered the divine call with a ready spirit, and forsook all the comforts of a life of ease and all the empty honors of the world to dedicate yourself to God in the Order of His holy Mother. You labored manfully for the salvation of souls. In union with Jesus crucified, you endured painful sufferings with such patience as to deserve to be healed miraculously of an incurable cancer in your leg by a touch of His divine hand. Obtain for me the grace to answer every call of God and to fulfill His will in all the events of life. Enkindle in my heart a consuming zeal for the salvation of all men. Deliver me from the infirmities that afflict my body (especially...). Obtain for me also a perfect resignation to the sufferings it may please God to send me, so that, imitating our crucified Savior and His sorrowful Mother, I may merit eternal glory in heaven. St. Peregrine, pray for me and for all who invoke your aid. Amen.

The traditional novena prayer to St. Peregrine, recited each of the nine days. At "(especially...)" name the illness or the sick person for whom you pray.

Frequently Asked Questions