St. Gerard Majella Annual Novena
Encyclopedia
The Solemn Novena to St. Gerard Majella is held over 9 days in St. Joseph's Redemptorist Church, Dundalk
, Ireland
. It runs from 8th to the 16th October.
, Italy
. He was the son of a tailor who died when Gerard was 12, leaving the family in poverty. Gerard tried to join the Capuchin order, but his health prevented it. He was accepted as a Redemptorist lay brother serving his congregation as sacristan
, gardener, ostiarius
, infirmarian, and tailor.
When falsely accused by a pregnant woman of being the father of her child, he retreated to silence; she later recanted and cleared him, and thus began his association as patron of all aspects of pregnancy. He is a saint
whose intercession is requested for children (and unborn children in particular); childbirth; mothers (and expectant mothers in particular); motherhood; falsely accused people; good confessions; lay brothers; and Muro Lucano, Italy.
He was a man of great depth, insight, prayer and kindness. Unfortunately his health was never good. He died on October 16, 1755, at 30 years of age. Gerard was beatified on January 29, 1893 by Pope Leo XIII
, and was canonised on December 11, 1904 by Pope Saint Pius X. He was featured on an Italian 45-euro postage stamp in May 2005. The feast day of Saint Gerard Majella is October 16.
, welcomes thousands of people from all over Ireland
to the Annual Festival of Faith in Honour of St. Gerard Majella. After Bro. Gerard's Beatification in 1893, a triuum in his honour was preached in St. Joseph's by Fr. Hall, widely regarded as one of the greatest preachers of his day. The people of Dundalk took St. Gerard into their hearts after this sermon and continued to pay devotion to him on a regular basis. However during the 1930s, Fr. John Murray, started what has become the biggest festival of faith in Ireland
, the Annual Nine Day Novena to St. Gerard Majella, beginning on the 8th October and finishing on his feast day, the 16th October. Fr. Hugo Kerr erected a shrine to St. Gerard in the church in 1939. Today the Novena continues to grow with over 10,000 people attending the Novena on a daily basis.
The Novena consists of 10 sessions a day, with the first session starting at 7am, running all day until the last session at 10pm, when the mass
is conducted by candlelight. Prayers and Petitions are offered up daily by members of the public and are read out during each session. Due to the increasing numbers attending the Novena each year extra seating is added to the hallways, monastery rooms, side altars and the parish hall, where each session is shown live on large television screens.
One memorable event of the Novena from years past was the trumpet players that performed at each of the sessions on the last day of the Novena. The last days of the Novena also see an increase in attendance as those who are unable to make it throughout the Novena usually attend the last three days.
God,
we thank you for the gift of St. Gerard
and the example of his life.
Because St. Gerard always had complete faith
and trust in you,
you blessed him with great powers
of help and healing.
Through him, you showed your loving concern
for all those who suffered
or were in need.
You never failed to hear his prayer
on their behalf.
Today, through St. Gerard’s powerful intercession
,
you continue to show your love
for all those who place their trust in you.
And so, Father, full of faith and confidence,
and in thanksgiving for all the wonderful
things you have done for us,
we place ourselves before you today.
Through the intercession of St. Gerard,
hear our petitions,
and if it is your holy will, grant them. Amen.
From earth’s sorrow, from life’s tearland,
High above the clouds we gaze,
Where enthroned in starlike glory,
Reigns today the saint we praise.
Refrain
Saintly Gerard, Blessed Brother,
Thou whose heart did burn with love divine,
Friend of Jesus, child of Mary,
Make, O make our sinful hearts like thine.
Humble Gerard, lowly workman,
Patron
of the hearts that toil,
Bless this bleak earth’s myriad
toilers,
Lift their thoughts above earth’s soil.
Preachers include:
- Fr. Peter Burns, C.Ss.R
- Fr. Brendan Keane, C.Ss.R
- Fr. Michael Cusack, C.Ss.R
- Fr. Michael Dempsey, C.Ss.R
- Fr. Denis Luddy, C.Ss.R (Holy Redeemer Church)
- Fr. Derek Meskell, C.Ss.R (Holy Redeemer Church)
Guest Speaker : Mr. Tony Hanna, Co-Ordinator of Armagh Archdiocesan Plan
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. It runs from 8th to the 16th October.
About St. Gerard Majella
Gerard was born as Gerardo Majella on April 23, 1725 in Muro LucanoMuro Lucano
Muro Lucano is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the region of Basilicata, southern Italy.-History:The town is situated on the site of the ancient Numistri, at the foot of the Apennines, the scene of a battle between Hannibal and Marcellus in the second Punic war.-Main sights:The...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He was the son of a tailor who died when Gerard was 12, leaving the family in poverty. Gerard tried to join the Capuchin order, but his health prevented it. He was accepted as a Redemptorist lay brother serving his congregation as sacristan
Sacristan
A sacristan is an officer who is charged with the care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents.In ancient times many duties of the sacristan were performed by the doorkeepers , later by the treasurers and mansionarii...
, gardener, ostiarius
Ostiarius
An ostiarius, a Latin word sometimes anglicized as Ostiary but often literally translated as porter or doorman, originally was a servant or guard posted at the entrance of a building. See also gatekeeper....
, infirmarian, and tailor.
When falsely accused by a pregnant woman of being the father of her child, he retreated to silence; she later recanted and cleared him, and thus began his association as patron of all aspects of pregnancy. He is a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
whose intercession is requested for children (and unborn children in particular); childbirth; mothers (and expectant mothers in particular); motherhood; falsely accused people; good confessions; lay brothers; and Muro Lucano, Italy.
He was a man of great depth, insight, prayer and kindness. Unfortunately his health was never good. He died on October 16, 1755, at 30 years of age. Gerard was beatified on January 29, 1893 by Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
, and was canonised on December 11, 1904 by Pope Saint Pius X. He was featured on an Italian 45-euro postage stamp in May 2005. The feast day of Saint Gerard Majella is October 16.
The Redemptorists Annual Nine Day Novena
St. Joseph's Parish Church,a redemptorist House in DundalkDundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
, welcomes thousands of people from all over Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to the Annual Festival of Faith in Honour of St. Gerard Majella. After Bro. Gerard's Beatification in 1893, a triuum in his honour was preached in St. Joseph's by Fr. Hall, widely regarded as one of the greatest preachers of his day. The people of Dundalk took St. Gerard into their hearts after this sermon and continued to pay devotion to him on a regular basis. However during the 1930s, Fr. John Murray, started what has become the biggest festival of faith in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the Annual Nine Day Novena to St. Gerard Majella, beginning on the 8th October and finishing on his feast day, the 16th October. Fr. Hugo Kerr erected a shrine to St. Gerard in the church in 1939. Today the Novena continues to grow with over 10,000 people attending the Novena on a daily basis.
The Novena consists of 10 sessions a day, with the first session starting at 7am, running all day until the last session at 10pm, when the mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
is conducted by candlelight. Prayers and Petitions are offered up daily by members of the public and are read out during each session. Due to the increasing numbers attending the Novena each year extra seating is added to the hallways, monastery rooms, side altars and the parish hall, where each session is shown live on large television screens.
One memorable event of the Novena from years past was the trumpet players that performed at each of the sessions on the last day of the Novena. The last days of the Novena also see an increase in attendance as those who are unable to make it throughout the Novena usually attend the last three days.
Highlights of the Novena
- Communal Celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (usually on the 5th Day)
- Healing Mass with the Anointing of the Sick and the Elderly (held on the Saturday)
- The BlessingBlessingA blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
of Babies (2.30pm service held on the Sunday)
- The Novena of All Nations (4.30pm on the Sunday)
- TaizeTaizéTaizé is the name or part of the name of several places in France and an asteroid:* Taizé Community in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, a monastic order visited by many young people* Taizé, Saône-et-Loire in the Saône-et-Loire département...
Mass - Candlelight Session. Nightly at 10.30pm
- Guest Speaker - lay people sharing their experience of life situations.
Prayer to St. Gerard Majella
Almighty and EternalEternity
While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existence for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside time. By contrast, infinite temporal existence is then called sempiternity. Something eternal exists outside time; by contrast,...
God,
we thank you for the gift of St. Gerard
and the example of his life.
Because St. Gerard always had complete faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
and trust in you,
you blessed him with great powers
of help and healing.
Through him, you showed your loving concern
for all those who suffered
or were in need.
You never failed to hear his prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
on their behalf.
Today, through St. Gerard’s powerful intercession
Intercession
Intercession is the act of interceding between two parties. In both Christian and Islamic religious usage, it is a prayer to God on behalf of others....
,
you continue to show your love
for all those who place their trust in you.
And so, Father, full of faith and confidence,
and in thanksgiving for all the wonderful
things you have done for us,
we place ourselves before you today.
Through the intercession of St. Gerard,
hear our petitions,
and if it is your holy will, grant them. Amen.
Hymn to St. Gerard Majella
From Earth's SorrowFrom earth’s sorrow, from life’s tearland,
High above the clouds we gaze,
Where enthroned in starlike glory,
Reigns today the saint we praise.
Refrain
Saintly Gerard, Blessed Brother,
Thou whose heart did burn with love divine,
Friend of Jesus, child of Mary,
Make, O make our sinful hearts like thine.
Humble Gerard, lowly workman,
Patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
of the hearts that toil,
Bless this bleak earth’s myriad
Myriad
Myriad , "numberlesscountless, infinite", is a classical Greek word for the number 10,000. In modern English, the word refers to an unspecified large quantity.-History and usage:...
toilers,
Lift their thoughts above earth’s soil.
Novena 2008
The theme of the 2008 Novena is A LIFE WORTH LIVINGPreachers include:
- Fr. Peter Burns, C.Ss.R
- Fr. Brendan Keane, C.Ss.R
- Fr. Michael Cusack, C.Ss.R
- Fr. Michael Dempsey, C.Ss.R
- Fr. Denis Luddy, C.Ss.R (Holy Redeemer Church)
- Fr. Derek Meskell, C.Ss.R (Holy Redeemer Church)
Guest Speaker : Mr. Tony Hanna, Co-Ordinator of Armagh Archdiocesan Plan