St. Francis is one of the most revered saints of the church. The great respect accorded to St. Francis is primarily due to his life of service and great humility.  He was a person with great trust in prayer and a fervent desire to do God’s will.  He spent a lot of time asking God for direction and caring for poor people, including lepers.  In 1209, after hearing a sermon about preaching the Good News, he started doing just that and living in poverty. He was soon joined by other friends, mostly from the educated class, who joined his life as a beggar.
He is renowned for his love of animals, the environment, and his desire for peace. He even went to see a Muslim leader of Egypt to seek peace.
He died on October 3, 1226. He died singing psalms of praise. He was canonized on July 16, 1228, by Pope Gregory IX. His feast day is celebrated on October 4.
It seems appropriate during times of conflict – personal, family or worldly – to turn to the example of St. Francis and become instruments of peace. 

So especially during these times of conflict in our world - terrorism, violence, bigotry, prejudice, self-serving attitudes, intollerence and all the horrors that seek to cause fear, instill mistrust, and convince people that peace is just a fairy tale - it seems appropriate that we turn to the intercession of St. Francis that like him, we may be devoted ambassadors for peace - in our hearts, in our lives and in the world.

You are invited to pray the novena for peace.  Gather your family, your friends or simply go off by yourself, and for nine consecutive days pray that the same kind of peace that filled St. Francis may become a strong pillar of hope for our world. 

(you can use the prayers below or print the PDF found to the right under documents)



  St. Francis of Assisi Novena Prayers
 
Opening Prayer
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Peaceful and loving Saint Francis, through your kind intercession we seek holiness above all things. We seek the faith, hope and love that allowed you to joyfully renounce the pleasures of earthly life and to radically follow our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pray for us that we may be willing to suffer with and for the poor in the example of Jesus. Help us to be always grateful for the all blessings we have received and the strength to overcome our most pressing concerns, especially… (Mention your intentions here)
 
DAY 1
St. Francis, as you left a comfortable life to lead a life of poverty and service to our Lord Jesus Christ, we ask you to pray that we also realize the folly of seeking to amass material gains and experience worldly pleasures. This day I humbly forego (name a sacrifice you will make today) as an offering to God our Father, hoping that this act signals a start of my ongoing conversion. (reflect a moment or two and then go to Prayer of St. Francis)
 
 
Day Two
Holy St. Francis, when you decided to serve in the manner of our Lord Jesus Christ you entrusted your whole life to his Divine Providence. Emboldened by your example, I resolve to entrust the favorable resolution of my situation to God our Father, through your most kind intercession.
(reflect a moment or two and then go to Prayer of St. Francis)
 
 
Day Three
Humble St. Francis, you have acted as a peacemaker even in the face of extreme physical danger. Through your prayers, may we also be filled with a desire to find peaceful resolutions to the problems that plague us, even in the most trying of times. As an offering to our Almighty Father, I resolve to forgive all the wrongs I have suffered from anyone in the past.
(reflect a moment or two and then go to Prayer of St. Francis)
 
 
 
 
Day Four
Holy St. Francis, your concern for God’s creation has caused you to be named patron of ecology. May we, through your prayers, follow your footsteps in being good stewards of all of creation which God our Almighty Father has provided. May we also be faithful stewards of the skills and abilities we have been given. (reflect a moment or two and then go to Prayer of St. Francis)
 
 
 
Day Five
Blessed St. Francis, when you were blessed with the decision to serve our Lord, you abandoned everything and surrendered yourself totally to God’s will. Obtain for us the same trust in God, that the Holy Spirit may guide our every thought, word and deed.  (reflect a moment or two and then go to Prayer of St. Francis)
 
 
 
Day Six
Holy St. Francis, through your prayers, may we be blessed with the desire to give all of our strength, and abilities towards serving God’s purpose in our lives. May our lives be filled with complete faith and the hope of spending eternity with our Heavenly Father.  (reflect a moment or two and then go to Prayer of St. Francis)
 
 
 
Day Seven
Devout St. Francis, you were untiring in your service to the poor. Obtain for us the same capacity for mercy and desire to give of ourselves so that we may one day be considered worthy of the promises of Christ.  
(reflect a moment or two and then go to Prayer of St. Francis)
 
 
 
 
Day Eight
Holy St. Francis, you spent your life evangelizing and won over many people to God. We humbly ask that through your intercession, God may grant that our doubts be replaced with the certainty that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us through life’s many trials as w journey towards The eternal kingdom.  (reflect a moment or two and then go to Prayer of St. Francis)
 
 
Day Nine
Almighty God, through the kind intercession of St. Francis, we humbly ask for the grace to be free of the fears and anxieties that try to control us, especially (repeat your special intentions and requests here).
May we be relieved of the causes of our distress, that we may be able to better serve as the instruments of your Divine Purpose on earth.  (reflect a moment or two and then go to Prayer of St. Francis)
 
 
 
 
PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; 
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 
Where there is injury, pardon; 
Where there is doubt, faith; 
Where there is despair, hope; 
Where there is darkness, light; 
And where there is sadness, joy. 
 
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console; 
To be understood, as to understand; 
To be loved, as to love; 
For it is in giving that we receive, 
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. 
Amen.
 
 
 
Concluding Prayer
St. Francis, help us in praying for the grace to truly repent for our sins and actively seek reconciliation with God. May the blessings we obtain through your intercession deepen our faith, and inspire us to store treasures in Heaven, where we hope to spend eternity with the Almighty Father.  May I become an ambassador of God’s peace so that all people may live free from conflict. 
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and forever shall be, world without end. Amen