: a Roman Catholic period of prayer lasting nine consecutive days
Examples of novena in a Sentence
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Around 350 to 400 people had gathered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in downtown Spokane on Tuesday for the second night of novena, a tradition of gathering for prayer for nine days or nine weeks, when the man, identified as Joshua James Sommers, allegedly attacked the priest.—Megan Forrester, ABC News, 7 Feb. 2025 Also, the national order of the Knights of Columbus began a novena for peace and healing.—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 2024 According to legend, the Sisters of Loretto prayed a nine-day novena to St. Joseph, patron saint of Carpenters, for help building a staircase to the choir loft.—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 29 Mar. 2024 Intercessions and novenas were prayed in hopes that God would miraculously heal Ian of his sickness.—Josh Holdenried, National Review, 5 May 2023 This month, parishes across Southern California offered a novena, or nine days of intentional prayer, to St. Dymphna ahead of her feast day on Sunday as part of a recent push to create a more welcoming environment for those who suffer from mental afflictions.—Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2022 The nine-day novena devoted to the Blessed Mother of Jesus is observed and celebrated by Filipino Catholics around the world.—Susan Degrane, Chicago Tribune, 18 Dec. 2022 The Catholic practice of a novena, or nine consecutive days of prayer, is a petition for divine favor.—Dallas News, 16 Feb. 2022 Under normal circumstances, her family and friends would have gathered to pray a novena for nine days.—Sarah Freishtat, chicagotribune.com, 30 Dec. 2020
Word History
Etymology
Medieval Latin, from Latin, feminine of novenus nine each, from novem
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