A novena is nine days of focused prayer, modeled on the nine days the Apostles spent in prayer between the Ascension and Pentecost. The Miraculous Medal Novena applies that same rhythm to Our Lady's promise of grace to anyone who asks with confidence.
Where this novena came from
The devotion has roots in the Congregation of the Mission, the Vincentian priests who trace their spiritual family back to St. Catherine Labouré herself, since she was a Daughter of Charity within that same Vincentian tradition.
In 1915, Fr. Joseph Skelly, a Vincentian priest in Philadelphia, founded the Central Association of the Miraculous Medal to support a seminary building fund, using small medals mailed with appeal letters. In 1927, he introduced a nine-day novena held four times a year, which grew so popular it eventually became a weekly Perpetual Novena, still prayed today at Miraculous Medal shrines including the National Shrine in Perryville, Missouri.
What the novena asks for
The novena centers on the promise Mary made to Catherine Labouré: that those who wear the medal with confidence and ask for her intercession will receive great graces. Each day typically includes a specific petition, a short meditation on Mary's role as intercessor, and the Memorare, the same prayer Alphonse Ratisbonne was asked to recite in the weeks before his own conversion.
How to pray it at home
You don't need to travel to a shrine to pray this novena. Pick nine consecutive days, or nine consecutive Mondays if you'd rather match the traditional Perpetual Novena schedule, and set aside a few quiet minutes each day.
Hold your rosary or medal while you pray, so the physical object becomes part of the habit rather than an afterthought. If you're praying for a specific intention, name it clearly at the start of each session rather than leaving it vague. Close each day's prayer with a decade of the Rosary if you have the time, since the two devotions share the same heart.
Nine days is short enough to finish and long enough to notice a change in how you pray. Many families make the novena an annual habit, praying it every November leading up to the Feast of the Miraculous Medal on the 27th.
