The Knights of Columbus are leading a novena to St. Joseph for Pope Francis to mark the 10th anniversary of his pontificate. The novena begins Sunday, March 12, and concludes Monday, March 20 — the transferred Solemnity of St. Joseph, since March 19 this year is a Sunday.
The novena will encompass the March 13 anniversary of the election of Pope Francis and the anniversary of his installation on March 19, 2013.
Each day, the Knights invite the faithful to reflect on a short prayer from Pope Francis, to offer a decade of the rosary, and to conclude with a special prayer for Pope Francis composed by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore.
The novena culminates March 20 with the Litany of St. Joseph, to which Pope Francis added seven new invocations on May 1, 2021, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.
Guardian of the Redeemer
Servant of Christ
Minister of Salvation
Guide in times of trouble
Protector of exiles
Protector of the afflicted
Protector of the poor
The daily reflection prayers for the Knights' novena are taken from Pope Francis’ cycle of 12 catecheses on St. Joseph, which he delivered during a series of General Audiences from Nov. 17, 2021, through Feb. 16, 2022.
“Every time I’ve been blessed to meet Pope Francis, he has asked that we pray for him,” Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said. “I know that I pray for him every day, and I call upon my brother Knights in every nation to pray with me for Pope Francis in a special way on the occasion of his anniversary.”
The Knights of Columbus have produced a documentary titled St. Joseph: Our Spiritual Father, as well as numerous resources on St. Joseph, all of which can be accessed here.
Those interested in receiving daily reminders with the novena prayers are invited to sign up at kofc.org/stjoseph.
