The St Peregrine Novena

The Saint Peregrine Novena is the principal Catholic devotion for those suffering from cancer and other serious illness. It is addressed to Saint Peregrine Laziosi (1260-1345), the Italian Servite friar who is honored across the Catholic world as the patron of cancer patients. The Catholic devotion to him has existed since shortly after his death in 1345 and has spread particularly in the modern era as cancer has become one of the most widespread of human diseases. The Saint Peregrine Novena is prayed daily by tens of thousands of Catholic patients and their families across the world, and the testimonies of healings and graces attributed to his intercession are extensive.

Origin and history

Saint Peregrine Laziosi was born in the Italian city of Forlì in 1260, the only son of a wealthy and politically influential family of the Romagna region. His youth was marked by political activity in opposition to the Catholic Church (Forlì was a center of anti-papal sentiment in the late thirteenth century, and Peregrine as a young man was part of the anti-papal faction). According to the standard hagiographical sources, his conversion came in 1283, at the age of about twenty-two, when Saint Philip Benizi, the prior general of the Servite Order, came to Forlì to preach reconciliation between the city and the Holy See. Peregrine, present at the preaching, struck Saint Philip in the face during a public altercation. Saint Philip's response was to turn the other cheek, in literal fulfillment of the Lord's words. Peregrine was so struck by this response that he immediately repented, asked forgiveness, and shortly afterward entered the Servite Order in Siena.

He served the Servite Order for over sixty years, principally at the convent in his native Forlì, where he had returned after his religious profession. His ministry was particularly directed to the poor and the sick of the city. As a penance for the sins of his youth, he undertook the vow of perpetual standing: he refused to sit during the day except when absolutely necessary, standing during prayer, study, and most of the meals. The vow was kept for thirty years.

In old age, Peregrine developed a cancerous growth on his right leg. The condition advanced over the next several years until amputation was the only remaining medical option. The night before the scheduled surgery, Peregrine spent the night in prayer in the chapel before a fresco of Christ Crucified. According to the standard account, he experienced a vision of Christ descending from the Cross to touch the diseased leg. When he awoke, the cancer was gone. The amputation was canceled. He lived for many more years, dying in 1345 at the age of about eighty-five.¹

Canonization and patronage

Saint Peregrine was beatified in the local Servite tradition shortly after his death; his cult was confirmed by Pope Paul V in 1609. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on 27 December 1726 (the same canonization in which Saint John of the Cross was raised to the altars). His patronage of cancer patients developed naturally from the manner of his miraculous cure, and by the eighteenth century he was widely invoked across the Catholic world as the principal patron for those suffering from the disease.

The modern Catholic devotion has been particularly developed by the Servite Order, which maintains shrines and confraternities of Saint Peregrine in many countries. The principal shrine is the Basilica of Saint Peregrine at Forlì, where his incorrupt body is preserved. Major Saint Peregrine devotions are also maintained at the shrine in Sutton, Surrey (England), the National Shrine of Saint Peregrine in Chicago (United States), and shrines in Australia and Latin America.²

Structure of the novena

Each day of the Saint Peregrine Novena follows the same form:

1. Opening invocation: O great Saint Peregrine...
2. A meditation on a theme proper to the day, drawn from Saint Peregrine's life and from the Catholic theology of suffering.
3. The petition: the specific intention for which the novena is being prayed (typically the healing of a particular cancer or serious illness).
4. The classical Saint Peregrine novena prayer preserved in the Servite tradition.
5. Closing prayers: the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.

When the novena is prayed

The Saint Peregrine Novena is most commonly prayed:

• At the diagnosis of a serious illness (cancer, terminal disease, life-threatening surgery), as the immediate Catholic response to the news.
• In the nine days leading up to a major medical procedure (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation), in preparation for the procedure.
• At the death of a loved one from cancer, as a Catholic devotion of mourning and entrustment.
• In the nine days before his feast day on 1 May, the date assigned to his memorial in the Roman Calendar (the date varies in some Servite calendars).
• As a continuous prayer over many years for those whose serious illness has stabilized but not been cured.

Pairing the novena with other prayers

The Saint Peregrine Novena is paired with:

• The Holy Rosary, particularly the Sorrowful Mysteries, which meditate on the same Cross by which Saint Peregrine was healed.
• The Anima Christi, which expresses the same Catholic devotion to the wounds of Christ.
• The Surrender Novena of Don Dolindo Ruotolo, particularly when the illness is causing severe interior anxiety.
• The Servite Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, which expresses the particular Servite devotion to Our Lady at the foot of the Cross.

For the saint himself, see Saint Peregrine Laziosi. For broader theological context, see the Communion of Saints.

Sources

Footnotes

1. The standard biographical sources for Saint Peregrine are the Acta Sanctorum (1 May), the Servite Order's hagiographical archives at the Basilica of Saint Peregrine in Forlì, and the modern devotional biography Filippo M. Ferrini, OSM, Saint Peregrine Laziosi: Patron of Cancer Patients (1995). Catholic Encyclopedia (1907), "Saint Peregrine Laziosi," available at newadvent.org. ↩

2. Pope Paul V, decree confirming the cult (1609). Pope Benedict XIII, canonization bull (1726). The principal Servite Order shrines and confraternities are documented in the Order's official records. Available at vatican.va and at the Servite Order's official websites. ↩