NOVENA TO ST. ANNIBALE MARIA DI FRANCIA FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD
THE SAINT OF VOCATIONS
Spiritual Director of Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta
St. Annibale Maria di Francia
Feast day: June 1
1851 – 1927
Beatified By: 7 October 1990 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized By: 16 May 2004 by Pope John Paul II
The message and the mission of Saint Annibale Maria Di Francia is not only valued among those involved in vocation ministry and those who have at heart the formation of the clergy but also by all those who have come to understand the need of prayer for more vocations in the Church.
DAY ONE: Saint Annibale Maria Di Francia, you were entrusted by Our Lord Jesus Christ, with the soul of the Servant of God Luisa Piccaretta. Now, through the intercession of our Little Mama Luisa, and under the Blue Mantle of Our dear Blessed Mother, Mary, we entrust to you our prayers in this Novena for abundant vocations to the Holy Priesthood.
Blessed Pope John Paul II described you, St Annibale Maria di Francia, as “an anticipator and precursor of the modern pastoral care of vocations.” Therefore we pray with you, through Luisa Piccarreta, your own prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary begging the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest.
Pray the daily prayer of St. Annibale to Our Lady: O Most Holy Virgin, You have kept in Your Immaculate Heart the Divine Command of Jesus: “Pray therefore to the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest” and You have raised all priestly and apostolic vocations, which have bloomed in the Church at all times. We ask of You this Spirit of prayer and that You may present the supplications which we raise to the Lord of the Harvest so that He send to the world an abundance of holy laborers for His greater Glory and for the Salvation of Souls. Amen.
DAY TWO: Saint Annibale Maria Di Francia, you who were the Extraordinary Confessor to our Little Mama, the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, once said: “What are these few orphans we attend to, these few people we bring the good news to, compared to the millions who are lost and abandoned as sheep without a shepherd?…I looked for an answer and I found a complete one in the words of Jesus: “Beg the Harvest Master to send out laborers to gather his harvest.” Therefore we pray with you, through Luisa Piccarreta, your own prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary begging the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest.
Pray the daily prayer of St. Annibale to Our Lady: O Most Holy Virgin, You have kept in Your Immaculate Heart the Divine Command of Jesus: “Pray therefore to the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest” and You have raised all priestly and apostolic vocations, which have bloomed in the Church at all times. We ask of You this Spirit of prayer and that You may present the supplications which we raise to the Lord of the Harvest so that He send to the world an abundance of holy laborers for His greater Glory and for the Salvation of Souls. Amen.
DAY THREE: Saint Annibale Maria Di Francia, you once asked: “Who will evangelise the poor if there are no evangelisers? Who will lead the people in God’s ways, if there are no pastors?”
You understood the importance and great need of holy laborers. Now more than ever we need Vocations to the Holy Priesthood. Therefore we pray with you, through Luisa Piccarreta, your own prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary begging the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest.
Pray the daily prayer of St. Annibale to Our Lady: O Most Holy Virgin, You have kept in Your Immaculate Heart the Divine Command of Jesus: “Pray therefore to the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest” and You have raised all priestly and apostolic vocations, which have bloomed in the Church at all times. We ask of You this Spirit of prayer and that You may present the supplications which we raise to the Lord of the Harvest so that He send to the world an abundance of holy laborers for His greater Glory and for the Salvation of Souls. Amen.
DAY FOUR: St. Annibale Maria Di Francia, in your love for children and the poor you discovered another and greater poverty, which was the lack of good workers. You spent your whole life countering this poverty. Today we suffer more than ever the poverty of good workers in the vineyard. Therefore we pray with you, through Luisa Piccarreta, your own prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary begging the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest.
Pray the daily prayer of St. Annibale to Our Lady: O Most Holy Virgin, You have kept in Your Immaculate Heart the Divine Command of Jesus: “Pray therefore to the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest” and You have raised all priestly and apostolic vocations, which have bloomed in the Church at all times. We ask of You this Spirit of prayer and that You may present the supplications which we raise to the Lord of the Harvest so that He send to the world an abundance of holy laborers for His greater Glory and for the Salvation of Souls. Amen.
DAY FIVE: St. Annibale Maria Di Francia, you yourself strived to become a model of the “good laborer” spoken of in the Gospels, and to be a priest “according to the Heart of Jesus.” Our hearts yearn for “good laborers,” priests “according to the Heart of Jesus.” Therefore we pray with you, through Luisa Piccarreta, your own prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary begging the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest.
Pray the daily prayer of St. Annibale to Our Lady: O Most Holy Virgin, You have kept in Your Immaculate Heart the Divine Command of Jesus: “Pray therefore to the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest” and You have raised all priestly and apostolic vocations, which have bloomed in the Church at all times. We ask of You this Spirit of prayer and that You may present the supplications which we raise to the Lord of the Harvest so that He send to the world an abundance of holy laborers for His greater Glory and for the Salvation of Souls. Amen.
DAY SIX: St. Annibale Maria Di Francia, you looked at the poor of the city with the eyes of Jesus and saw them as “sheep without a shepherd.” Look now upon our poor souls with the eyes of Jesus and have pity on our souls who are so often as “sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus wants laborers to harvest His people. Therefore we pray with you, through Luisa Piccarreta, your own prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary begging the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest.
Pray the daily prayer of St. Annibale to Our Lady: O Most Holy Virgin, You have kept in Your Immaculate Heart the Divine Command of Jesus: “Pray therefore to the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest” and You have raised all priestly and apostolic vocations, which have bloomed in the Church at all times. We ask of You this Spirit of prayer and that You may present the supplications which we raise to the Lord of the Harvest so that He send to the world an abundance of holy laborers for His greater Glory and for the Salvation of Souls. Amen.
DAY SEVEN: St. Annibale Maria Di Francia, in diving into the richness of the Gospel you found the Rogate pearl of great price, which means “…pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest to send workers into His harvest.” (Mt 9:37-38; Lk 10:2). These words were engraved into your heart. To you we come to enflame the hearts of men to the Holy Priesthood and send workers into His Harvest. Therefore we pray with you, through Luisa Piccarreta, your own prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary begging the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest.
Pray the daily prayer of St. Annibale to Our Lady: O Most Holy Virgin, You have kept in Your Immaculate Heart the Divine Command of Jesus: “Pray therefore to the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest” and You have raised all priestly and apostolic vocations, which have bloomed in the Church at all times. We ask of You this Spirit of prayer and that You may present the supplications which we raise to the Lord of the Harvest so that He send to the world an abundance of holy laborers for His greater Glory and for the Salvation of Souls. Amen.
DAY EIGHT: St. Annibale Maria Di Francia, it became your life to pray to God the Father, the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into His Harvest so that many would know the joy of the Gospel. It is now our obligation, our desire, our joy to pray for vocations as you did. Therefore we pray with you, through Luisa Piccarreta, your own prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary begging the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest.
Pray the daily prayer of St. Annibale to Our Lady: O Most Holy Virgin, You have kept in Your Immaculate Heart the Divine Command of Jesus: “Pray therefore to the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest” and You have raised all priestly and apostolic vocations, which have bloomed in the Church at all times. We ask of You this Spirit of prayer and that You may present the supplications which we raise to the Lord of the Harvest so that He send to the world an abundance of holy laborers for His greater Glory and for the Salvation of Souls. Amen.
DAY NINE: St. Annibale Maria Di Francia, you used to say: “We should love children with tender and fatherly love. This is the secret of secrets to gain them to God”. There are so few today who desire to be priests, tender fathers, who love with a fatherly love who would lead souls to our Heavenly Father. Therefore we pray with you, through Luisa Piccarreta, your own prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary begging the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest.
Pray the daily prayer of St. Annibale to Our Lady: O Most Holy Virgin, You have kept in Your Immaculate Heart the Divine Command of Jesus: “Pray therefore to the Master of the Harvest to send laborers to His Harvest” and You have raised all priestly and apostolic vocations, which have bloomed in the Church at all times. We ask of You this Spirit of prayer and that You may present the supplications which we raise to the Lord of the Harvest so that He send to the world an abundance of holy laborers for His greater Glory and for the Salvation of Souls. Amen.
FINAL PRAYER
Every year, the Popes remind the universal Church that still today salvation comes to us through the work of many and holy ministers of the Gospel and that to obtain them from God we must pray.
PRAYER FOR PRIESTLY VOCATIONS
Abba Father, in the Name of Jesus,
in the Unity, Power, and Love of the Holy Spirit
Under the Mantle of Mary
with all the Angels and Saints
through the Intercession of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta
Jesus, Good Shepherd, you said:
“The harvest indeed is great but the laborers are few.”
We lovingly embrace Your invitation:
“Pray the Heavenly Father to send forth laborers into His harvest.”
Inspire in us a holy crusade for vocations
under the loving care of St. Annibale Maria Di Francia
whom Blessed Pope John Paul II described as
“an anticipator and precursor of the modern pastoral care of vocations.”
Grant us abundant holy priests!
May these holy priests be the salt of the earth, the light of the world,
the city placed on the mountaintop for the salvation of mankind redeemed by Your Precious Blood.
Look on us Lord Jesus and our need for holy priests.
Help those young men you are calling to hear clearly Your Solemn and Authoritative Voice
and to generously respond with their “Fiat!” to Your loving call.
Holy Mary Mother of God and Mother of priests, Mother and guardian of vocations,
pray with us, pray for us and pray for all those young men
called from the beginning of time by Our Triune God
to be holy priests today in our troubled world. Amen.
Please take our humble prayers
and make them Your Command,
that all be accomplished and completed in Your Most Holy Divine Will.
WE BELIEVE! WE RECEIVE!
FIAT! AMEN!
SO BE IT!