Immaculate Conception novena

The Immaculate Conception novena opens on the First Sunday of Advent and closes on the eve of December 8. For nine evenings we kneel before Mary, conceived without sin, and ask her to help us make room for her Son. Here is the traditional novena in full, as the Church printed it in the 1878 English Raccolta, with the date of each day in 2026.

The Immaculate Conception novena prayers

The Raccolta was the Church's official collection of indulgenced prayers. Its first English translation approved by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences was made at Woodstock College in Maryland and published in 1878. The novena below is its "First Novena, in preparation for the feast of the Immaculate Conception, beginning on November 29." We print it word for word, with the old spellings.

Each day has the same order. Only the prayer for the day changes.

1. Come, Holy Ghost, with its versicle and prayer.
2. The preparatory prayer.
3. Nine Hail Marys and one Glory Be.
4. The prayer for the day.
5. The Litany of Loreto, or the hymn Tota pulchra es.
6. The closing versicle and prayers.

Opening prayer: Come, Holy Ghost

Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of thy faithful people, and kindle in them the fire of thy love. V. Send forth thy spirit, and they shall be created. R. And thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray. O God, who hast taught the hearts of thy faithful people by the light of thy Holy Spirit; grant us, in the same spirit, to relish what is right, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Preparatory prayer for every day of the novena

Virgin most pure, conceived without sin, from the first moment of thy conception fair and stainless; glorious Mary, full of grace, mother of my God; queen of angels and of men! I humbly venerate thee as the mother of my Saviour, who, though he was God, taught me, by his own veneration, reverence and obedience to thee, the honor and homage that I owe thee. Vouchsafe, I pray thee, to accept the novena which I dedicate to thee. Thou art the safe refuge of the penitent sinner: fit, then, it is that I should have recourse to thee. Thou art the mother of mercy: will not, then, my miseries, so manifold, move thee to compassion? Mary, my sole hope after Jesus, thou canst not but accept the loving trust which I have in thee: make me worthy to be called thy son, that with confidence I may cry to thee, Monstra te esse matrem. Show thyself a mother.

Then say the Hail Mary nine times and the Glory Be once, and pray the prayer for the day.

The prayer for each day

First day: Sunday, November 29, 2026

Lo, at thy sacred feet I bow, Virgin immaculate, the while my heart overflows with joy in union with thine own, because from eternity thou wast the mother elect of the eternal Word, and wast preserved stainless from the taint of Adam's sin. For ever praised, for ever blessed be the most holy Trinity, who in thy conception poured out upon thy soul the riches of that matchless privilege. I humbly pray thee, gracious mother, obtain for me the grace to overcome the bitter results of original sin; ah yes! make me victorious over them, that I may never cease to love my God.

Second day: Monday, November 30

Mary, unsullied lily of heavenly purity, I rejoice with thee, because from thy conception's earliest dawn thou wast full of grace, and endowed with the perfect use of reason. I thank and I adore the ever blessed Trinity, who gave thee those high gifts. I am overwhelmed with shame in thy presence, to see myself so poor in grace. O thou, who wast filled with heavenly grace! impart some portion of it to my soul, and make me share the treasures of thy immaculate conception.

Third day: Tuesday, December 1

Mary, thou mystical rose of purity, my heart rejoices with thine at the glorious triumph which thou didst gain over the infernal serpent by thy immaculate conception, and because thou wast conceived without stain of original sin. I thank and praise with my whole heart the ever-blessed Trinity, who granted thee this glorious privilege; and I pray thee to obtain for me strength to overcome all the wiles of the infernal foe, and never to stain my soul with sin. Be thou mine aid; make me, by thy protection, victorious over the common foe of our eternal welfare.

Fourth day: Wednesday, December 2

Mirror of holy purity, Mary, Virgin immaculate, great is my joy while I consider that, from thy immaculate conception, the most sublime and perfect virtues were infused into thy soul, and with them all the gifts of the Holy Ghost. I thank and praise the most holy Trinity who bestowed on thee these high privileges. I pray thee, gentle mother, obtain for me grace to practise virtue, and so make me worthy to become partaker of the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost.

Fifth day: Thursday, December 3

Mary, bright moon of purity, I rejoice with thee, because the mystery of thy immaculate conception was the beginning of salvation for the race of man, and the joy of the whole world. I thank and bless the ever-blessed Trinity, who thus did magnify and glorify thee; and I beg of thee to obtain for me the grace so to profit by thy dear Son's death and passion, that his precious blood may not have been shed in vain for me upon the cross, but that, after a holy life, I may reach heaven in safety.

Sixth day: Friday, December 4

Mary immaculate, most brilliant star of purity, I rejoice with thee, because thy immaculate conception has bestowed upon the angels in paradise the greatest joy. I thank and bless the ever-blessed Trinity, who enriched thee with this high privilege. O let me, too, one day enter into this heavenly joy, in the company of angels, that I may praise and bless thee, world without end.

Seventh day: Saturday, December 5

Mary immaculate, rising morn of purity, I rejoice with thee, gazing in wonder upon thy soul confirmed in grace from the very first moment of thy conception, and rendered inaccessible to sin. I thank and magnify the ever-blessed Trinity, who chose thee from all our race for this special privilege. Holy Virgin, obtain for me utter and constant hatred of all sin above every other evil, and let me rather die than ever again fall into sin.

Eighth day: Sunday, December 6

O spotless sun! O Virgin Mary! I congratulate thee. I rejoice with thee, because in thy conception God gave thee grace greater and more boundless than he ever shed on all his angels and all the saints, together with all their merits. I thank and marvel at the surpassing beneficence of the ever-blessed Trinity who conferred on thee this privilege. O make me to correspond with the grace of God and never abuse it! Change this heart of mine, make me now begin to amend my life.

Ninth day: Monday, December 7

O living light of holiness, model of purity, Mary immaculate, virgin and mother! as soon as thou wast conceived, thou didst profoundly adore thy God, giving him thanks that in thee the ancient curse was revoked, and blessing came again upon the sinful sons of Adam. O make this blessing kindle in my heart love for God; and do thou fan this flame of love within me, that I may love him constantly, and one day in heaven eternally enjoy him, there to thank him more and more fervently for all the wondrous privileges conferred on thee, and to rejoice with thee for thy high crown of glory.

After the prayer for the day

The Litany of Loreto or "Tota pulchra es"

After the day's prayer, the Raccolta says: "Then say the Litanies of the blessed Virgin, or else" the short hymn below. The full text of the litany is on our Litany of Loreto page. The hymn Tota pulchra es takes its first line from the Song of Songs ("Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee," 4:7), which the Church has long sung of Mary Immaculate.

V. All fair art thou, O Mary! R. All fair art thou, O Mary! V. The original stain is not in thee. R. The original stain is not in thee. V. Thou art the glory of Jerusalem. R. Thou art the joy of Israel. V. Thou art the honor of our people. R. Thou the advocate of sinners. V. O Mary! R. O Mary! V. Virgin most prudent. R. Mother most tender. V. Pray for us. R. Intercede for us with our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Latin, as the Raccolta prints it beside the English: Tota pulchra es, Maria. Et macula originalis non est in te. Tu gloria Jerusalem. Tu laetitia Israel. Tu honorificentia populi nostri. Tu advocata peccatorum. O Maria. Virgo prudentissima. Mater clementissima. Ora pro nobis. Intercede pro nobis ad Dominum Jesum Christum.

Closing prayers

V. In thy conception, Virgin, thou wast immaculate. R. Pray for us to the Father, whose Son was born of thee.

Let us pray. O God, who through the immaculate conception of the Virgin didst prepare a worthy dwelling-place for thy divine Son: grant that, as in view of the death of that Son, thou didst preserve her from all taint, so thou wouldst vouchsafe unto us that, cleansed from all sin by her intercession, we too may arrive at thine eternal glory.

O God, the pastor and ruler of all the faithful! graciously look upon thy servant, N., whom thou hast set over thy holy Church; grant him, we beseech thee, by word and example, so to direct those over whom thou hast placed him, that, together with the flock thou hast intrusted to his care, he may attain eternal life.

O God, our refuge and strength, who art the source of all piety! hearken to the pious prayers of thy Church, and grant that what we ask in faith, we may in deed obtain. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

At "N." we name the Holy Father, today Pope Leo XIV. The first of these three prayers is the collect of the Mass of December 8. The Roman Missal still uses the same Latin prayer on the solemnity today.

How to pray the Immaculate Conception novena in 2026

The novena fits neatly into the first week of Advent this year. Day one falls on the First Sunday of Advent, the day the Church's new year begins, and day nine falls on Monday, December 7, the memorial of St. Ambrose. St. Andrew's feast on November 30 and St. Francis Xavier's on December 3 fall inside it too.

• Choose a time and keep it. The whole novena takes about fifteen minutes with the Litany of Loreto, or eight with the shorter hymn. Many families pray it after supper, when the Advent wreath is lit.
• Name one intention. The novena is made "in preparation for the feast," so the first intention is a pure heart ready for Christmas. Most of us also bring a particular need to Our Lady.
• Add the old practices if you can. St. Alphonsus Liguori, in the rules printed with these novenas in the 1909 Benziger edition, asks that we pray in the state of grace, visit a church when possible, add a small daily act of self-denial, and receive Holy Communion. Advent confession lines grow long in mid-December. Going during the novena is a fine way to finish it.
• End at Mass. The solemnity of December 8, 2026, falls on a Tuesday and is a holy day of obligation in the United States. A vigil Mass on Monday evening, December 7, fulfills the obligation, so the ninth day of the novena can close in church. See the Immaculate Conception 2026 for Mass, readings and customs of the day.

If you miss a day, don't give up the novena. Pray the missed day's prayer along with the next day's, and keep going.

The indulgence

Pius VII attached indulgences to this novena by rescripts of 1808 and 1809: 300 days for each day and a plenary indulgence on the feast or in its octave, as the Raccolta records. Those day counts belong to the system Pope St. Paul VI reformed in 1967. Today the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum (grant 22) grants a partial indulgence to anyone who devoutly takes part in a novena held publicly, and names the novena before the Immaculate Conception as one of its examples. So if your parish prays the novena together, pray it with them.

Why we pray this novena

A novena is "a nine days' private or public devotion," in the Catholic Encyclopedia's words, and its model is the first novena of all: the apostles persevering in prayer with Mary for nine days before Pentecost. The same article notes that the Franciscans kept a novena before the Immaculate Conception long before Rome indulgenced it, and that they received indulgences for it on April 10, 1764. A novena before a feast is a novena of preparation. This one prepares for the feast of Mary's own beginning: by a singular grace of God, in view of the merits of Christ, she was kept free from original sin from the first moment of her conception. It is not the conception of Jesus, a common mix-up. For the history of the dogma, defined by Blessed Pius IX on December 8, 1854, see the Immaculate Conception.

The nine daily prayers walk through what that grace meant. Mary was full of grace from her first moment (day two), the enemy of the serpent (day three), adorned with every virtue and gift of the Holy Spirit (day four), the dawn of our salvation (day five), the joy of the angels (day six), preserved from every sin (day seven), given more grace than all the saints together (day eight), and the one in whom "the ancient curse was revoked" (day nine). Each prayer turns at the end from her to us and asks for the grace that matches the privilege.

In the United States, the novena has one more intention. Mary under this title is the patroness of our country, chosen by the American bishops in 1846 and confirmed by Pius IX in 1847. Many parishes add a prayer for the nation on the last day.

Related prayers and pages

• The Miraculous Medal novena, often prayed before November 27, with its invocation "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."
• The St. Andrew Christmas novena, which begins on November 30, the second day of this novena.
• The novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe, which begins on December 3 and overlaps this one.
• Advent 2026 and Our Lady of Lourdes, where Mary told St. Bernadette in 1858, "I am the Immaculate Conception."
• All our novenas.